Brick By Brick
by CrimsonCobwebs
Summary: A princess, a thief, and a look into the building of a tumultuous relationship. Bewarned: lime and swearing. Complete.
1. The Gargant and the Very Angry Princess

For anyone who wanted me to lengthen 'Fur Beneath Her Fingertips'; this is for you.

(Brick By Brick)  
The Gargant and the Very Angry Princess

"Y-you're going to do _what_!?" had been her initial reaction.

Garnet couldn't boast to be much of a daredevil; after all, she'd lived ninety percent of her life within the confines of a castle under the attentive eyes of her raucous bodyguard and the Alexandrian Soldiers. However, over the past few months her previously dormant courageousness had suffered a rude awakening, and every time she would start to feel a sense of accomplishment regarding an audacious stunt and take pride, _he_ would do something to make it appear as dull as a dictionary.

"Ya heard me."

Like riding a wild Gargant in an underground mining cavern armed with nowt but a pair of dilapidated daggers and a wilting flower that smelt highly unpleasant despite its vibrant colour.

"You… you're not serious, though? Surely…"

But the ebullient sparkle in his eyes, the abrupt grin and the thrashing tail all but confirmed her suspicions and she sighed somewhat theatrically before impetuously remarking, "Well, you're not getting _me_ on one of those things, Zidane. I really do believe that there must an alternate method to accessing these switches… I mean –" she lowered her voice "- look at the miners. They hardly look like they could scale a flight of stairs without becoming short of breath, let alone ride a wild Gargant…"

Zidane dismissed her trepidations with a blunt snort that was thrown about the expansive caverns of Fossil Roo in an eerie echo. "Nah, it'll be quicker this way, trust me. Those lazy, old farts will be wishing they weren't half as nimble and stupid as me."

"What?"

"Err… oh. Nothing. Just wait here, okay? I'm gonna look for a Gargant and pull any switches that might open up a tunnel for us."

"Really, I think it would be better if – ah! Zidane, _wait_!"

"I'll be right back!" came the reverberation of the disappearing thief.

Garnet groaned and squatted upon the nearest boulder, swinging her legs over the side and resting her chin on her palm.

"Don't be sad, Dagger," a little voice comforted beside her. "He'll be okay."

Garnet turned her attention to the anxious mage and smiled wanly. "You're right. I do wonder sometimes, though. I just don't understand how someone can be so impulsively reckless. I don't think he even contemplates the possible consequences of his actions half the time. I mean, what if he fell off? Or the Gargant injured him? Or led him to a dead end and he had no way to return? Or if–" She stopped when Vivi's growing anxiety blossomed into outright fear and she quickly scavenged her consternations. "Ah, err… But you're right. That would never happen to Zidane. He's too lucky."

"Oh, it's not luck," Vivi said assuredly. "It's skill. And bravery." This he followed with a wistful: "I wish I was as brave as Zidane…"

Garnet embraced a wave of affection for the child and playfully tugged the rim of his hat. "I think you're very brave. In fact, you're one of the bravest people I know."

"Aw…" Vivi crouched down, embarrassed.

Despite Vivi's words of assurance, Garnet made herself as comfortable as possible on the rocky protrusion because Zidane's 'be right backs' and 'just a seconds' were usually the foundations of a good few hours of delay… without exception.

So she lay on her back and stared up at the distant ceiling, arching away like the roof of a chapel. It was huge, forty feet from the ground, she reckoned. Vines grappled the fissures and moisture seeped from the pores like mournful tears. The cavernous space magnified these sounds of dripping water into a pleasant, if somewhat disquieting, musical lilt.

The lower floor was a cobweb of rope ladders, bridges and crudely carved pathways. Miners wandered along these questionable conduits with practised ease, grubby and gruffly spoken, wielding their pick axes like weapons and claiming 'staggering' finds worth half what they boasted.

A sudden commotion bought her senses back with unpleasant abruptness and she sat up, groping for her staff and expecting some sort of beast to emerge from one of the numerous tunnels that riddled the cavern with all the intricacy of an ant's nest. Vivi was on his feet, too, quavering but equally alert. Typical, Garnet thought, that they were going to be attacked when Zidane wasn't around.

After a moment the rumbling and rustling sorted itself into a stampede of footsteps that resonated from one of the tunnels high above, and both companions turned their gaze likewise, anticipating trouble.

Garnet's staff danced out of numb fingers when the 'trouble' scuttled into view.

A wild Gargant entered their cavern, its sturdy legs clinging to the complex network of entwining flora that weaved its way along the ceiling. It snapped its manacles when it spotted the two and its black eyes swivelled in their sockets, though it seemed far from alarmed by their presence. It was probably more concerned about its stowaway.

Zidane Tribal, clinging to the back of the upside down beast and likewise facing the same direction, released hold of the Gargant in a cringe-inducing display of audacity and balance long enough to offer a cheery wave and an impetuous grin while hollering: "HiVivihiDaggergonnagocheckoutsomemoreandseeifthereareanymoreswitchesover –"

His hurried sentence was abruptly severed when the Gargant disappeared through a funnel adjacent to the previous.

For a moment the only sounds that could be heard was the moisture dripping from walls and the distant clang of the miner's tools meeting rock.

Then Vivi summarised his feelings with a rather anticlimactic: "G-gosh…"

And however anticlimactic is might have been, the princess failed to find a better word to summarise her sentiments other than: "Goodness..."

She couldn't say she wasn't startled (Zidane was full of surprises) because she had been expecting a crazy stunt somewhere along those lines. So in the end all she gave was a deferential, "I guess we better wait for him."

So she reclaimed her reclined position atop the unaccommodating surface and closed her eyes, taking advantage of the small respite to unwind her weary body.

However, an inactive body doesn't necessarily equal an inactive mind, and Garnet's thoughts and worries plagued her like a swarm of angry wasps. Thoughts and worries of poor Beatrix and Steiner, of her wrathful, greedy mother – a woman she barely knew anymore – and of the citizens victims of a brutal war.

In a desperate attempt to elude the black feelings she tried to turn her thoughts to something else…

…and found herself thinking of Zidane.

Zidane Tribal. Now there was name she wasn't going to forget in a hurry – even if she wanted to. Never in her life had she met an individual such as he: boisterous, vivacious, raucous, lewd and scandalous. He could shrug just about every insult off with utter nonchalance, considered himself above the law and boasted every bad habit Garnet had ever been instructed not to have.

Though his character was far from one sided. Zidane bore an innate kindness that would be extended to anybody anywhere; whatever race, status, class, location and circumstance, Zidane would wordlessly offer his hand in aid. Sure, he made his feelings toward the nobility of certain communities apparent (Steiner lectured him for a great length of time after he spat at one of the more arrogant members of the upper-class) but she knew, deep down, that if ever one were in trouble he'd voluntarily offer his assistance, no matter the risks.

It perplexed her no end; his endearing desire to help people, herself included. She often found herself fruitlessly questing the reasons behind his courageous motives. Never had she met someone as selfless as Zidane. Sure, Garnet had a whole army to fight for her, but with him it was different. He didn't do it for duty, for fame, for money or for promotion; he did because he wanted to help her. And that earned him a rather special place in her heart…

…even if he was a complete lunatic.

"Hey guys I'm back!"

The pair looked up and spotted an upside down Zidane on another upside down Gargant, grinning wildly and waving an arm - as if they couldn't spot him in the first place.

The tailed boy preformed a death-defying somersault from the creature and landed dexterously upon the wooden platform some way below, whereupon he favoured Garnet with a grin she had grown accustomed to over the months; it was always displayed after he'd completed a feat meant to impress her.

Garnet was far from impressed, however, especially now the boy had given the word 'dishevelled' an entirely new meaning. His usually unkempt hair was now a bird's nest of grimy tangles courtesy to his upside down position on the Gargant; his clothes hideously askew.

"Alright guys, I've cleared the way. We can go to the end of the tunnel and get the hell outta here!"

"Hurray!" Vivi exclaimed.

"No yummies here," Quina said grumpily, emerging from one of the tunnels. "I glad you find way out."

"So um… where do we go…?" Garnet asked, peering round at the labyrinth of passageways. "There's so many tunnels…"

"Oh we're not using the tunnels," Zidane said, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "Err… don't worry, it wont take long!"

Garnet graced him with a sceptical glare. "What are you talking about?"

The thief pointed skyward. "We have to ride the Gargant!"

"Zidane!"

"There's no other way! Don't worry, you wont fall."

The princess huffed and stared dubiously at the vines grappling the ceiling. Vivi followed her gaze with equal disinclination.

"Um… I don't think I can hold on to the Gargant," he muttered.

Which Zidane dismissed with, "Don't worry about it. Everything'll be fine. Quina you go first."

The Qu cocked its silly head at the genome, who was scooping down to pluck a flower from the rocky surface. Whatever was going on in his/her mind (and Garnet had never come close to discovering unless it concerned food), the creature obviously reached a conclusion and h/she Quina trundled up to the boy.

"I do this only if I can eat flower after," it said.

Zidane rolled his eyes and held the yellow flora aloft. "Yeah, whatever. Okay, there's some niches in its outer body shell which you can hold on to. Slip your feet into the lower plates, there's a kind of gap…um, it's hard to explain but you'll know when you jump on – ah! Here it comes!"

True to his word, the giant creature emerged from the shadows with long, eager strides and Garnet watched with wide eyes as it detached its two front legs from its perch and bent backward to snatch the flower straight from Zidane's hand. Far from perturbed, the boy grinned and petted its shiny hide.

"Jump on then!"

"I no jump from here!" Quina argued disbelievingly. "It too high!"

"Oh c'mon, that's crap and you know it! Just try… hurry before it goes!"

The Qu mumbled something obscene under its breath and jumped. Garnet was almost positive the bubbling thing wouldn't reach the giant beetle, but after a few attempts he/she managed to cling precariously to the Gargant's hide and release an exalted _eeeyah!_ that was somewhere between fear and joy as the beast began to move.

"Don't jump off until you come to the end!" Zidane shouted after it. "Next to a load of steps!"

That said and with Quina departed, the tailed thief turned to the princess with a smarmy grin. "Your turn!"

Garnet took a step back. "No way. There's no way I'm going to be able to hold on to that thing!"

Zidane advanced, the unnerving smirk steadfast on his features. "Don't be silly, Dagger. If Quina can do it then so can you." He held out his arms. "I'll lift you on!"

Garnet backed herself against a rocky wall and extended her arms. Her palms sought his chest and she tried to push the advancing thief away. "D-don't Zidane! Stay away! I'll fall! I don't want to – n-no! Let go of me!"

Heedless of the princess' cries Zidane bent down and tipped her over his shoulder. Flabbergast, she kicked him as hard as her uncompromising situation allowed, earning a muffled 'oof' but nothing more, and he walked with maddening flippancy to the cluster of flowers sprouting near the mouth of the tunnel.

"Gods darn you, Zidane Tribal, put me down put me down right now, I _command_ you to put me down!"

Zidane laughed and Vivi rung his hands nervously, the beginnings of a protest occasionally forming intelligible words that stopped short of becoming anything influential.

"You'll be changing your song in a moment or two," Zidane drawled ominously. "But hell, I guess I can't do it like this…"

"What? What?" Garnet yelled fearfully, blood filtering to her head as she beat her fists against Zidane's back. "What are you talking about? Put me down, darn you!"

"Okey-dokey."

The thief hoisted her back to her normal position and gently lowered her to the ground. With her feet securely on _terra_ _firma _she turned the most furious glare she could muster to the boy, who was inches from her face and wearing another infuriating grin that, if she was correct in her interpreting, spoke of mischievous things to come.

"How _dare_ you! I utterly refuse to ride that blasted Gargant now and I'll have you know that… wh-what are you doing? Don't do that! Put that flower down right this instant! Put it down, I say!"

Zidane's grin grew and grew until a set of perfectly even teeth (an oddity considering his urchin roots) was gleaning in the dim lamplight. He stuck his tongue between said teeth, expression positively roguish, as he extended his flower-clutching hand above him and snaked his other round Garnet's waist.

Still unsure of his exact plan but getting an awful whiff of how it was going to end nonetheless, Garnet attempted to push the boy away with all her meagre strength. When that failed the princess resorted to a brusque warning that she hoped would disengage his arms…

She leaned forward and nipped him hard on the side of his neck.

"Ye-ouch!" was his initial response, followed swiftly by, "Ooh, kinky."

Garnet lurched back, face turning red, and forgot about her struggle long enough for Zidane to reinforce his death grip around her waist. His eyes averted to the gaping mouth of the tunnel yonder and she heard, with growing terror, the sounds of a Gargant approaching.

The fear overlapped the initial anger and she threw Zidane a pleading note instead. "Please don't make me do this I'm scared! I wont be able to hold on! Please don't throw me on it I swear I'll fall and I'll –"

"_Throw_ you?" Zidane laughed, his voice almost eclipsed by the oncoming creature. "Who said anything about throwing you?"

Garnet blinked and the Gargant's shadow fell across them. It clicked its wings and leaned down to seize the plant from Zidane's hand.

The thief threw Garnet a fleeting glance and flashed a grin that was somewhere between reassurance and utter petulance. "I'm not going to throw you… I'm going to _carry_ you."

Just as the Gargant was departing Zidane leapt from the ground with Garnet still in his arms and she shrieked as the ground was whisked away beneath her feet and her cheek hit his collarbone and the hard surface of the Gargant struck her back and the world took on a terrifying angle. Previous anger forgotten, she ensnared Zidane in her own death-grip, breath coming in panicked bursts as the ground began to move beneath her and the Gargant clicked its disapproval at the added weight.

"Don't move Vivi, I'll be back for you!" Zidane's yell rumbled in Garnet's ears.

As the Gargant picked up the pace with alarming speed and the ground became an unnerving blur beneath her vision, the princess squeezed her eyes shut and rested her head against Zidane's shoulder.

She heard the unbelievable sound of his chuckle. "Geez, don't be so scared. I'm not gonna drop ya."

Nothing on Gaia could have reassured Garnet at that moment. The abrupt twist and turns of the beast made Zidane's body lurch drastically from side to side, the occasional piercing shriek emitted from the disgruntled (though far from belligerent) Gargant rendered her hearing momentarily disabled. Her heart was going faster than she'd ever known before, and her breathing refused to slow.

"Hey, hey, calm down would ya?" Zidane's voice rode the waves of her trepidation and she felt his hand rub circles on her back.

His hand.

His _hand_!

"Goddamnit Zidane don't you let go don't you letgodon'tyouletgo –"

"Okay, okay! Calm down, woman!" And the hand retreated.

After a moment spent reining her breathing under control, Garnet mustered the courage to open her eyes. The walls rushed past and the ground was nothing but an indistinct shadow beneath a worryingly long fall. She gulped and her eyes continued to wander, desperate to fix on something that wasn't moving faster than a Lindblum aircab – _anything gods darn it all answer this one bloody prayer and_ -

She found Zidane.

That little smile was yet to leave his features and his eyes, alight with aplomb, were fixed on the armoured back of the Gargant. His hair hung at a ludicrous angle from his dirt-streaked complexion and ruffles of lace shivered in the wake of the furious gusts of air.

He _was_ rather handsome… in an untraditional sense. In a _raw_ sense. Yes, that was the word. Raw. Garnet had been witness to many a good-looking prince and noble in her time, though Zidane differed to them, somehow. Their looks were often the result of attentive cleaning and expensive altering techniques while Zidane's was…was… cruder. Certainly, those members of nobility were attractive too (the subject of many a girly crush), but in a very different way, and she suddenly realised she preferred the way Zidane looked to the way –

Woah, woah. Wait a minute. Was she admitting that she was _attracted_ to Zidane?

…

Okay, maybe she was… just a _little_ bit. She had to admit she found the balmy snub of his nose (Steiner described it as a 'peasantry feature') and the gentle slope of his jaw quite enamouring. And she especially liked how blue his eyes were… really, really blue… and all sparkly…like the sapphires in her mother's crown or the sea or -

"Got something on my face?"

Garnet blinked. Zidane's gaze hadn't shifted from the Gargant's back.

"I don't have to be looking directly at you to see you lookin' at me, y'know. I know it's hard to take your eyes off something so damn fine but you could at least be a little bit more subtle about it."

Garnet flushed crimson as the accuracy of his joke struck home like an arrow, and justified her actions with: "I never noticed how dirty you are."

"I'm dirtier in bed," he countered and it took her a moment of confused interpreting to comprehend his meaning and gasped when she finally had it.

"You've no shame!" she scolded and he snickered his response.

The Gargant took an abrupt turning and Zidane wobbled on his perch. Garnet renewed her grip, squeezing the breath from his chest until he almost choked.

However, her fear was slowly dissipating, which unfortunately lent time to become aware and abruptly mortified by her rather unlady like position and his rather carnal one.

In her hurry not to be dropped she'd not only encircled her arms about his middle but her legs as well and she clung to him not unlike a baby monkey clings to its mother – though others might be inclined to describe her position in less innocent terms.

Zidane had his hands and feet lodged into parts of the Gargant's armour and she suddenly admired his strength for holding both him and another passenger upside down like this. However, this did little to quell her unease at the erotic position, though she could hardly see a way around it. Unless...

She wriggled her hips to try and ease her legs into a more accommodating arrangement. If she could just inch her ankles further down then -

"Ooh, that feels nice. Keep going."

Garnet stiffened, anger and humiliation drowning her senses and sought the scolding words that often blossomed so easily, but in the end she merely sounded upset and hiccupped: "Z-Zidane.. d-don't…"

The boy winced. "Sorry. That was going a bit far, wasn't it? I was only joking. I'm sorry there isn't a better way of doing this but I knew you wouldn't have been able to hold yourself up for this long."

Garnet softened a little. He was a lewd bumpkin at times but really, he was only trying to do what he thought was best. No, she wouldn't have been able to hold on for so long and they both knew it. Once again Zidane had helped them all escape a troublesome situation by doing what he thought was right.

"It's fine," she said eventually. "Forget about it."

Zidane nodded, expression grim now, and concentrated on keeping them both aloft.

Eventually, the ride came to an end at Zidane's warning, and he leapt off with Garnet still clinging to him to with desperate fervour. He landed on two feet and straightened. Garnet's heels clacked against the stone floor (_ah dearest, sweet, loving floor!)_ but she staggered to keep her balance and they clung to each other in a clumsy attempt to aid their equilibrium.

And then for an inexplicable, dizzying moment, Garnet didn't want to let go. She kept her arms locked about his torso, fingers entwined at the base of his neck, with his hands pressed firmly against the small of her back. She heard the steady drum of his heart and felt the rise and fall of his chest and suddenly she was just so glad that he was there… kind, wonderful, helpful Zidane who would put everyone and everything before his own welfare.

"Are you okay? Still dizzy?"

The vibration of his voice thrummed pleasantly against her cheek. "Mmm. Still a little woozy."

His fingers mischievously trailed up her spine before deftly tugging the end of her long hair. "You don't seem very dizzy to me. I think you just want some lovin'."

Disgusted and ashamed at once, Garnet pushed him away with a flourish. "You're ridiculous," she berated. "Go and get Vivi; he's waiting."

Zidane blessed her with a lewd wink and ambled away in the direction of another knot of yellow foliage. It wasn't along until he was upside down on another insect-like beast, tail hanging beneath him like one of the many vines above.

"Boyfriend o' yours?"

Garnet startled and turned round to find a squat, bearded miner grinning broadly, pick axe hefted over one shoulder. "I… I beg your pardon?"

"Boyfriend?"

"Ah…er, no. We're just friends."

"That's what they all say," the man laughed with a wink. "If you don't mind me asking, why was you hitchin' a ride on the Gargant, anyways?"

Garnet shrugged. "It was the quickest way to the exit."

The miner blinked and thumbed his nose before ushering a short, brash bark of laughter. "Who the hell told ya that, now, I wonder? Sure aint the slowest route but it sure as Bahamut aint the fastest, neither. I told that kid he could go down the third tunnel and he'd be 'ere in no time but –"

"You what?"

"I told that there boy he could get to the exit if he just went down a few tunnels but obviously he insisted on using the Gargant. Funny that. Wonder why?"

Garnet abruptly turned to the gaping hole in the wall and replied, "Oh, I have a few ideas…. ZIDANE TRI_BAAALLL_!!"

Even when the echo of Garnet's enraged yell reached him it did very little to wipe the satisfied smirk from the devious boy's visage and he muttered, "Eh heh heh…I am such a stud."

* * *

_But seriously… it's all well and good to show Zidane nimbly riding the Gargant to all ends of Fossil Roo but can you really imagine Garnet doing such a thing? I mean… I can't even do a push up, let alone cling to a giant beetle-thingy upside down! I know it's just a game and all but c'mon people! How the hell did Zidane get his little troupe across?_

_Well, that's where fanfictioners like me come in, I suppose ;-) So expect more zidag related fluff and more filling-in-the-stupid-gaps. For more info on this fic just go to my profile._

_Free cookie to anyone who reviews :-)__ Suggestions are always welcome. Oh, by the way, does anyone think I should do chapters from Zidane's perspective? Just a thought._


	2. Confessions of a Feverish Mind

(Confessions of a Feverish Mind)

It stank.

It stank so bad Garnet could hardly find the words to describe the disgusting amalgamation of odours that invaded her nostrils, made her eyes water and bid food rise to her throat in sour bile. She remembered the smell being bad during their search for Fossil Roo, but never _this_ bad. Perhaps because Zidane had known where to find the wooden walkway and thus the unpleasant trek through the marshland had been gratuitously avoided.

Unlike now.

The princess was wading through a viscous substance that had initially started off about her ankles but gradually risen so now it gripped her kneecaps with gelatinous claws, grudgingly giving way to her advance, clinging and sucking and demanding until the girl was slick with sweat and her leg muscles ached something fierce. And just to add insult to injury, every now and again a bubble would inflate like a wart on the skin of the swamp and erupt in a spray of vile smelling gas, squirting those unfortunate enough to be too close with thick globules of the revolting bog fluid.

And the heat… gods the heat! Despite the scudding, low clouds that blotted the sun into a watery disc, the humidity was unbearable. It slicked her skin in sticky sweat, made her clothes clammy and uncomfortable, and her hair stick to her forehead in matted clumps. But was this the worst aspect of the relentless climate? Oh no. The mugginess brought with it endless clouds of mosquitoes, who shamelessly feasted on the exhausted travellers until their skin was a map of inflamed, itchy bumps. Garnet had stopped swatting them hours ago, surrendering beneath their relentless onslaught and numbers.

They'd been trudging through this grotesque caldron of green-grey mixture for so long the sun was beginning to sink. They'd gotten hopelessly lost (even Zidane succumbed to the fact, and Zidane _never_ got lost) while desperately seeking the wooden planks that would lead to a pond full of frogs, and the party was weary, stinking and generally tetchy.

Quina, on the other hand, seemed completely at home in the marsh and waddled here and there, eagerly snuffling around the sickly-green reeds that grew a good few feet taller than the tallest member of their little troupe. Occasionally, said foliage would rustle ominously and Zidane would steer his tired party away from any potential trouble, lightly fingering his daggers though clearly not enthused to use them.

Hours beforehand, Garnet had lingered on the edge of the swamp for some time before the then-animated thief had finally convinced her to step into the mud. The mud, Quina informed, wasn't usually so bad. It meant that the rains had come late this year and thus the swamp had been reduced to muddy, unwieldy bowls instead of watery pools. Nonetheless, Quina added, there would be ponds remaining in the centre of the swamp, and where there were ponds, there were frogs.

Garnet didn't know whether she'd prefer the water or the mud, and just as she was contemplating this Vivi's alarmed squeal and an ominous splash suggested an opportunity to make comparisons.

"Ah-ha!" Quina yelled excitedly. "Now we go to real swamp. Pathway not far now. We wash off in water."

This exclamation lifted Garnet's spirits a little. Her mud-caked calves were sorely begging to be rinsed. But when she waded up beside Zidane (who was standing with hands on hips muttering, "Aw goddamn shittin' swamps I aint never goin' into one of these motherfuc -") her hopes were cruelly dashed.

Garnet looked at the water and groaned. The word 'water' usually bought to mind refreshing adjectives, like 'gushing', 'clear' and 'cool', yet none of these described the substance spreading out before them like mouldy tarp.

It was deep, to be sure, and a dirty greenish-grey obscured by patches of duckweed and algae, clusters of frogspawn and – worse of all – constellations of mosquito eggs. Some of the lattermost had already hatched and the wriggling larvae clouded the water in fitful bursts.

"I am _not_ going in there…" Garnet proclaimed with a vigorous shake of her head. "It's _beyond_ disgusting."

"What you talk about?" Quina snapped, strutting into the marsh water with shocking indifference. "Water is refreshing!"

Zidane scratched the back of his head. "I dunno, Quina. There's probably loads of diseases in there."

"Loads of diseases in mosquitoes too, but that no bother you before!"

Zidane slapped one of the irritating insects on his arm and sighed. "Shit. I didn't think about that. Well, we've got our antidotes; if anyone gets queasy give me a shout and I'll throw you one." With that said he began wading into the pool.

"Zidane!" Garnet cried (the first words she'd spoken to him since they'd exited Fossil Roo). "Don't go in there! It's disgusting!"

"I've swum in worse," he reassured.

Garnet contemplated the water and wondered how he had managed to accomplish such a feat. Instead of arguing, though, she closed her eyes. _Just imagine it's bath water. A nice warm bath with bubbles in it_. She took a step into the stagnant water. _N-nice warm bath. That slimy stuff is j-just bath salts. Yes that's right bath salts and that –_ "Ah!" – _that frog is just a bath toy. A bath toy, darn you, Garnet don't think about it don't think about it_

Thankfully, the water seemed content to cease its gradual climb when it reached her upper thigh, though she continued to sink into the mud. To traverse the pool she had to paddle, push, wade and generally flounce around like a fool. Frogspawn and duckweed stuck to her arms in sticky globules, the baby gnats flitted about her fingers and attached themselves to her legs. Frogs clumsily collided and mosquitoes made a meal of her dry half.

She couldn't think how things could get any worse.

"U-um… Zidane…?" Vivi's voice spluttered. The poor mage had his chin barely above the water, his garments ballooning and hindering his travel. "What's that on your arm?"

The thief stopped to look at the little black thing wiggling just below his elbow and yelped in a rather effeminate fashion before finally losing his temper. "Oh gods damn this motherfucking swamp I fucking hate it I fucking hate the heat I fucking hate the mosquitoes and I fucking fucking fucking hate _leeches_!"

"Leeches!" Garnet shrieked and immediately began surveying her limbs, only to discover a stowaway on her own forearm. She screamed and thrashed her way toward Zidane. "Get it off! Get it off of me!"

The boy, who was busy prying his own off, stopped long enough to yank the one attached to Garnet and she yelped in pain. He crushed it in his hand, eyes blazing.

"I want to get out of the water, Zidane," Garnet told him assertively. "Please. I want to go _right_ _now_."

The thief sighed. "I know. We all do... But I think we're nearly there and –"

"You said that an hour ago!"

"I can't help the fact that we're lost!"

"It was your idea to come into this bloody swamp in the first place!"

"Firstly, it wasn't my idea - it was Quina's. Secondly, I didn't think it would

be like this; I thought it would be like the other marsh!"

"Well, you were wrong, weren't you? So get us out of here!"

"For gods' sake, didn't you just hear me? I don't know which way to go at the moment! The best thing to do is to keep following Quina. Why do you always gotta be like that, Dagger!?" He spun round and departed in long, aggressive strides, his tail thrashing angrily through the water, like an absurd snake.

"You…you insensitive j-jerk!" was all she could conjure from her limited abusive vocabulary.

Vivi looked on helplessly and Garnet fought the tears threatening to fall. The tiredness overwhelmed her; the leeches had been the final nail in the coffin of her patience. She could do nothing but agree with the blonde and pray to any available god that the marshland would come to an end and nothing more would hinder their way.

…

Garnet wondered if they were wandering round in circles. It wasn't impossible, considering that every section of this accursed swamp looked alike. Had she seen that cluster of reeds before? That abandoned bird nest? She wasn't sure anymore. The humidity made her thoughts sluggish and her muscles shake with fatigue. But they couldn't rest. Where could they stop? There was nothing but water and mud.

So she ventured on with Zidane as guide; Quina had disappeared some time ago. The thief was staggering ahead determinedly though his gait was becoming languid and he stumbled more than any of them. Even positioned seven feet behind him, Garnet could hear his ragged breath and determine the worrying slouch of his shoulders.

An exalted cry from Vivi up ahead. Zidane unsuccessfully stifled a groan, too weary to fight any impending trouble and Garnet shared his trepidations.

"What? What is it?" the thief called, trying to rouse his voice into something resembling alert, but ended up just sounding irritable instead.

"The swamp," came the reply, "has stopped!"

"What!?" the couple chimed in unison.

But an answer from the mage was unnecessary as the water level began to recede with every step, draining from Garnet's waist, to thigh, to knee and then coming up short about her ankle. The mud was still in abundance but the three travellers were too glad to be out of the watery bog to care.

And then they spotted a plank of wood protruding from a knot of reeds. They made for it with weary gratitude; appreciative sighs barely escaping parted lips.

Garnet considered the five-foot gap between glutinous mud and the rim of the elevated gangway, and Zidane paused beside her, reading her thoughts but not bothering to console her as he waded over and gently lifted her so she could pull herself onto the planks. Garnet lay on her front, practically embracing the hard surface, as Vivi was lifted and scrambled on too. Moments later, the thief hoisted himself up and promptly rolled on his back, squinting up at the grey sky and panting profusely.

"Horray!" Vivi exclaimed, squatting on the planks with hands in the air. "Now we can find our way out!"

If Garnet correctly recalled the swamp on the Mist Continent, it wouldn't be so easy; the gangways were a maze of interwoven wood; a network of planks that led to all ends of the enormous bog. They could be wandering for another few hours yet.

The thief sat up, grim expression conveying that his thoughts weren't dissimilar to Garnet's. He stood, knees sounding wet pops of protest, cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Quina! Quina, where are you!? Come and find us!"

His voice didn't seem to echo, just hang in the air, as if the humidity was one giant sticky cobweb. The mud gurgled and popped and spluttered beneath the gangplanks.

And no Quina.

"Shit," Zidane cursed as he put his hands on his hips and Garnet noted the way he swayed on the spot, the way his tail was oddly limp. Gods, they were all tired. "I hope he isn't lost. I really don't… don't wanna go back in and… and…" He shook his head and took several deep breaths. "Geez, let's just get outta this place. I'm sick of it."

Garnet stared up at the murky sky, a vast cataract of grey sagging above them like a wet blanket. The sun had sunk low and the light was quickly fading. It would be unwise to try to traverse the marsh at night, especially as weary as they.

"Maybe we should think about setting up camp?" the princess suggested tentatively. Zidane wasn't in the best of moods so she wasn't keen on dictating ideas to him, but after a glance at Vivi, who was wilting forward, eyes drooping into golden crescents, she decided to pursue the matter. "I think we could all do with a bit of rest, Zidane. Everyone's tired."

"Yeah, I have noticed, thanks very much. And if you discover a way to pitch a tent in five-inch thick mud or on top of bog water than please don't hesitate to share your revelation. I'd be very interested to know."

"Z-Zidane! Don't be like that! I'm just saying…"

"And I'm _just_ _saying_ that we can't bloody well rest if there's no where to –"

"Then let's just sleep on the planks!"

"Oh that's a _brilliant_ idea. Sleep on the _planks_. Right where all the monsters can get us, right where we can roll off into the water, right where we can –"

"Zidane…" The quiet little voice cut right through his sarcastic, high-pitched tone. "Zidane… please don't shout…"

The thief turned and looked down at the little mage, who was peering round at them both with large frightened eyes. Zidane sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry, Vivi. We'll go look for somewhere to put the tent up and if we can't find anywhere… then you guys can sleep on the planks and I'll stay up and keep watch… okay?"

Garnet was about to protest but thought better of it. She got to her feet and brushed the dirt from her behind, more out of habit than necessity; they were all so filthy. Zidane walked away, indicating that they should follow. His mud-caked boots clanked against the wood and Garnet noticed once again his tremulous gait and motionless tail.

…

Her trepidations were confirmed when they finally reached the end of the gangway. They stepped off onto a strip of mud that had been baked into something hard and sturdy and stretched out either way like a pair of arms spread for embrace. The reeds were a vast wall before them and the mud a stinking bath behind them. The light had faded into a dusky violet. It had gotten cooler with the onset of night, though nothing resembling comfortable, and the mosquitos' presence was beyond palpable now. The buzzing was close to intolerable.

"We can camp here!" Vivi exclaimed excitedly as he pattered around on the dusty surface. "Here! Here! Here! Can't we? Can't we, Zidane?"

Garnet hopped off the gangplank beside Zidane and cast him a sidelong glance. He was swaying from side to side as if passenger on a boat, and when Vivi addressed him directly he squinted his large eyes and hummed a vague response. He'd been deathly silent over the past hour they'd spent traversing the vast maze of bridgework, and had been so unsteady on his feet Garnet had feared he might fall over the side.

"Zidane? Are y-you alright…?" Vivi questioned timidly.

Garnet stood before the blonde, gauging his reaction. She watched as he squinted and wondered why he was doing such a thing when suddenly his eyes lost focus and he leaned forward a little farther than –

The princess leapt forward just as the boy toppled and managed to catch him in an awkward embrace. But she hadn't prepared herself for the dead weight and she went down beneath him too, falling to her knees with Zidane insentient against her.

Vivi yelped and fluttered round the pair like a wounded butterfly. Garnet rolled Zidane onto his back. His head flopped to the side and she righted it, feeling a tight ball of panic uncoil in her belly.

"Zidane. Zidane! Can you hear me? Zidane!"

His face was ashen and waxy. His breathing was shallow and laboured. She slicked his hair from his face and found it drenched in sweat. The ball of panic unravelled in a frightful burst.

"Vivi," she said, trying to keep her voice calm as the thoughts of what in gods name were they going _to do oh gods oh gods what could she do he was going to die_ – "Vivi… I want you to set up camp, okay? Put the tent up and… and… get all the blankets we have. And get a fire going too. We'll boil some water, yes, we need… a lot of water…"

The little mage scuttled away and did as she bade. Garnet moved Zidane's limbs into a position she hoped would be more comfortable then lay his head on her lap. Sweat ran down his face in rivers and she wiped them away with a cloth Vivi fetched for her.

What were they to do? Zidane was ill and they had limited medicine and resources to aid his recovery. What was wrong with him, anyway? Garnet possessed little knowledge of medicine and first aid; in the castle she had had doctors to attend calamities. What would they do without him? How would they cope?

As the panic increased and night's ominous shadow deepened, Garnet realised just how much the thief held their troupe together, and how acutely she felt his loss.

…

The campsite gradually rose around her and the incapacitated thief. Vivi cast a Fire spell to ignite a bundle of dead reeds, and Garnet dragged Zidane toward the flames in an attempt to ward off the masses of mosquitoes. She couldn't remember whether the fire attracted or repelled monsters, and Vivi didn't know, and Zidane was unconscious, but she needed the flames to boil the water and cook their meagre food source anyway so decided to keep it burning.

The heat was still oppressive but Zidane had begun to shiver uncontrollably minutes after he'd passed out. His teeth chattered and an occasional moan would escape his cracked lips.

Feeling more helpless than ever before, Garnet left Vivi in charge of the food and water as she pondered what to do with Zidane. She stroked the hair from his forehead and talked softly to him, but her fear became suffocating as his state worsened with every passing minute.

The reeds ahead rustled.

The pair froze, Vivi hunched over the fire and Garnet hunched over Zidane. She gestured for Vivi to prepare himself for battle and the exhausted mage took up his staff listlessly.

The reeds parted and Quina bumbled into the camping grounds.

"Aiya! What that I smell? You cook food? What you cook?"

Garnet sighed loudly. "You frightened us, Quina. Where have you been?"

"I been looking for frogs," the Qu informed as h/she brusquely pushed Vivi away from the pot containing their dinner. "I find lots. I bring them here. We eat them. Roast them over fire, yes?" H/she wielded a stick where lines of dead frogs had been strung upside side down, their yellow eyes wide and bulging.

Garnet recoiled but decided that she'd need all the nutrition available to get through the arduous few days ahead, so didn't argue with the Qu. Instead, she turned back to the more demanding matter at hand. "Quina, something's the matter with Zidane. He passed out an hour ago and… and he's getting worse! What's the matter with him? Do you know?"

The Qu stopped prodding the contents of the pot and waddled over to the thief. H/she placed a rubbery hand against Zidane's forehead and tutted. "It Qu-Land Fever. Very common. Probably got it from mosquitoes. Why he not use Antidote? You have many."

Garnet raised an eyebrow. She had no idea. "So an Antidote will cure him? How about an Esuna?"

The Qu shrugged mildly. "Maybe yes. Maybe no. The fever had lot of time to work. He should have drunk Antidote soon as he felt ill. He very stupid person."

Garnet looked at Zidane despairingly. "Then what should I do?"

"You force feed him Antidote, then nurse him back to health, yes? Make sure he wrapped up warm. And drink lots. He be better perhaps tomorrow. Perhaps in a few days. Depend on how bad fever is."

Garnet was relieved to hear that his ailment was not too bad, though looking at him now - shivering, pale and mumbling incoherently - she hoped the Qu's blasé diagnosis was accurate.

…

Quina stayed with them henceforth. H/she cooked the frogs and Garnet ate them enthusiastically enough; they didn't taste half as unpleasant as she'd originally thought. She tried to feed slivers to Zidane but he remained unresponsive and Garnet's own appetite was quelled as a result.

The night finally threw down an impenetrable blanket of darkness and Quina threw some flowers onto the fire. They smelt disgusting. The Qu said it would keep the mosquitoes at bay, and Garnet was too tired to object.

The frogs were ridiculously loud at night; they filled the humid air with their songs and the insects hummed and droned and buzzed like clockwork. The flames crackled and cast grotesque, dancing shadows about their quaint campsite. Vivi approached Garnet and offered her blankets, which she used to cushion the rough ground beneath. It was simply too hot to swaddle herself in extra layers. Her clothes were sticky, mud caked and generally uncomfortable too, and as the only member of their party interested in such things was insentient, Garnet kicked off her boots, shrugged out of her orange overalls and sat by the fire in nothing but her long silk blouse and undergarments. She snared her hair above her neck in a loose bun, and rested the back of Zidane's head against her lap.

Quina bought her a bowl of cold water and a cloth and told her to mop Zidane's head with it then helped the princess feed the thief a few sips of Antidote. After, the Qu wandered off to patrol the outskirts for monsters. Garnet told Vivi to go into the tent and sleep after witnessing the heartbreaking sight of the little boy desperately trying to keep himself awake by pinching his arm through his jacket. The mage obliged, albeit guiltily, even with the princess' reassurances.

And so she was left alone to tend to Zidane, who continued to shiver and sweat and mumble beneath the blankets.

_Poor Zidane_, Garnet thought as she stroked his forehead with her bare hands. How long had been feeling ill for? How long had he hidden his ailment? Why would he push himself so hard and so far, until his body literally gave out beneath him?

But of course, that question was easily answered. He wanted to get them out the marsh. He wanted them to find somewhere safe to rest. Gods, he was going stay awake all night to watch for monsters to _keep_ _them_ _safe_. Why did he go so far to help people? Why couldn't he ask for help himself once in a while?

"And look where your stubbornness has gotten you…" Garnet whispered, pushing flaxen locks from eyes. "You heroic fool."

…

The night wore on and Garnet's lids became lead weights, praying to be drawn down to rest. She resisted their efforts long enough, but caught herself once to often snapping out of fitful dozes. And it was from one of these dozes that a voice brought her to her senses.

She startled upright, blinking and blinking, confused and disorientated at once. Had she heard that? Had she heard a voice? Or was it the misty beginnings of a dream?

"Ngh… ay…ahh…"

Zidane. She looked down and found him as she'd last seen asleep on her lap. His breathing had evened she noticed with relief, and his shivering had subsided into fitful bursts of occasional shuddering. An improvement to be sure.

The fire had begun to dim so she leaned across (awkwardly, so as not to disturb Zidane) and groped for the dead reeds piled by the flickering flames. She threw them on and the fire roared back to life, heating her left side and turning her mosquito-ravaged skin a rosy hue.

"Ah…argh… Wh…what…"

Garnet looked down at the thief and found his lids fluttering and head turning softly against her thighs. Was he waking?

"Zidane…?" she whispered, wetting the cloth and repositioning it on his forehead. This seemed to do the trick, for his eyes opened a crack and he moaned loudly.

"Arr… oh. Mmmm… wh-where…?"

"You're safe, Zidane," Garnet reassured, stroking his cheek in hopes that he'd fully awaken. "You're here with me."

"Wh….who…? B-Blank…?"

"No. No, Zidane."

"Blank?"

"No. It's me, Dagger."

He let out a long sigh and hummed vaguely, eyes shutting for an instant in which she thought he would sleep again. She continued to stroke his cheek.

"Dagger," he breathed softly.

"Yes. I'm here."

"Mmm… where is… where…" His eyes opened again and they were unfocussed, bleary. He wasn't fully awake. His voice was distant and dreamy, disconnected somehow. "Where is… Gaby …?"

Garnet blinked. "Who?"

"Ngh…eyer… Gaby, you…you know…"

"No, I don't know anyone by that name."

Zidan giggled, making him sound very delirious and very boyish. "Y-you're so… so f-funny. Gaby is… is our daughter… mmm…you, you…"

Garnet's mouth hung open. Perhaps to say something, perhaps out of shock. She wasn't sure. All that came out was: "Oh…"

"You know… our daughter?"

"Um… " He was delirious. Undoubtedly. What was she to do in a situation like this? Try to wake him fully? Go along with his ramblings? Gods, what _was_ he rambling about? Their _daughter_…?

"Gaby…" Zidane sighed and his eyes fluttered closed again. "B-but… her name, no, her name it's… it arhk…luyh…"

"Zidane…?" She was losing him again.

"Her name… her name is actually… actually Gabriella. Means… it means 'most beautiful'. I chose it and… and you liked it. And… she is beautiful."

"Our daughter?"

"Mmm…"

"Gabriella is a very extravagant name."

"Yeaahh…I liiikke it…"

Garnet couldn't help herself. "What… what does she look like?"

"Like you," came the immediate reply (that suggested much past consideration) alongside a goofy grin and unfocussed eyes. "Beautiful."

People had called Garnet beautiful on many occasions, and she had always shrugged the cliché label off with a polite smile and curtsy; it had always sounded empty to ears. But the way he said it… Her cheeks burned beneath the genuine intensity of the single word.

"We're gonna… gonna have so many…" Zidane continued, his voice nothing more than a cracked whisper now. His eyelashes cast long, dark shadows against his cheeks.

"So many what?" the princess asked, genuinely intrigued despite herself, and she stroked his cheek to keep him awake.

"Children. Lots. I want… a big family… a, a massive family... lots of… of chil'ren…loadsa…many…"

"Really? You never struck me as a family man," she replied, more to herself than him. She didn't think he could hear her properly now anyway, though he continued to mumble incoherently for a while.

"We… gonna hava huge weddin'… massive… loadsa people…"

Garnet wet the cloth again and replaced it on his forehead. He flinched and sucked in a breath. She consoled him with gentle words and he settled down in a blanket of incoherent rambling, though she managed to pick a few bits up.

"…in castle… all of Tantalus too… all our friends… everyone…happy… and you… you look so beautiful. You'll be wearing a white dress."

"Will I?" Garnet didn't know whether receiving details of her apparent wedding day to a thief was disquieting or oddly romantic. The alien fluttering in her belly and the speedy beat of heart pulled her more toward the latter sensation, though.

"Mmm…" Zidane hummed a dreamy note. "And then we'll make children."

Garnet spluttered a little but it evolved into a half-hearted smile. "You're so funny, Zidane. Get some sleep."

The thief sighed deeply, his breath even and calm. And just when she thought he'd drifted off for good: "I love you."

Her breath hitched in her throat, her dark eyes wide and flecked with amber, reflections from the dancing flames. It seemed the marshland had been hushed beneath the weight of his words.

"What… what did you say?"

But he said no more and he didn't stir, and moments later Quina returned so she didn't feel inclined to rouse an explanation from him. The Qu eyed the red cheeked girl and dismissed any suspicions with a disdainful snort, and said that Zidane looked a lot better and would probably be awake by the morning if she continued to feed him sips of Antidote every few hours.

Garnet registered this with a slight nod. The raucous beating of her heart did well to smother any outside interference as she stared for long hours into Zidane's recovering visage.

And as the sun crept over the horizon and the heat began to pile like thunderheads, and the fire was nought but a mound of glittering ashes, Garnet felt positively feverish, and despite Quina's pleading, she knew no amount of Antidote could cure the ailment that thwarted her.

Oh yes, she'd caught Zidane's fever… just not the fever she'd been trying to cure him of all night.

* * *

This chapter. This _chapter_! I've written so many versions. This finished piece is very different to my original idea (the original was more sexual, but I don't want to make _every_ chapter sexual.) Anyway, I hope this version gives a needed insight into the better half of Zidane's personality. The half that only comes out when he's err… delirious :sweatdrop: But the whole thing with their um… 'daughter' will be brought up in later chapters :wink:

And also: Ha! I put in a teeny-weeny BlackxZid reference. WHAT YOU GONNA DO?? HUH? HUH? :runs round laughing manically: But I had to make it tiny because well… this is a zidag fic…I guess… :pout:

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, eh? Xanthera, I appreciate all your friends' reviews too (though it sounds like they should cut down on the sugar :wide eyes: hehe).


	3. Why Rain Isn't a Bad Thing

(Why Rain Isn't A Bad Thing)

If anyone were inclined to pry into Garnet's opinions of the weather (which they often did during decorous formalities at the castle) they would discover that she actually quite liked the rain. She liked listening to it a thrum a melancholy tune against the stonework of her castle, and enjoyed the aftermath when Alexandria would be a patchwork of grey-blue puddles and tiny rivers. And, as she discovered that day, the sound of rain pattering against forest leaves was also enjoyable. It made such beautiful din and never became dull to her ears, even after a solid two hours.

Of course, there were down sides to such torrential downpour. Like being soaked through to the skin (almost to the bone, Garnet reckoned) with no means of getting dry and no spare clothes at hand. Her silken blouse had transformed into a clear second skin that embarrassingly revealed the top of her corset (and Zidane made no gentlemanly attempt to avert his gaze), though she thanked the gods her overalls were not of similar material.

During their brief stop at Conde Petie, the party had witnessed a Black Mage whose similarities to Vivi were too striking to go unnoticed, and thus when the strange being fled they unanimously decided to follow. The dwarves informed them that hidden within the belly of a vast forest lay a village, from whence the mage had apparently come. And so the party took heed of the given directions and found themselves trekking through an endless tangle of dying trees hours later, keeping a wary eye for monsters stronger than they'd ever encountered before, and using every trick in the book to navigate through the dense foliage.

And as lovely as the rain was to listen to, it did have its drawbacks. Such as turning Garnet's smooth locks into a tangled mess, for instance. Not forgetting the chill that was assaulting her outer senses. The temperature wasn't particularly cold, but the rain lent it a frigid edge that made her shiver, so she paused quickly to plait her unruly hair, then hurried to catch up with her three companions.

Garnet had been relieved to discover Conde Petie (no matter how strange the inhabitants) and had hoped to rest and clean herself off, but after the shocking encounter with the mage she simply couldn't refuse Vivi's anxious, fervent state and thus she remained dirty, smelly and generally spent. They hadn't had a chance to properly wash since the marshlands and Garnet's dreams seemed full of hot baths and soap. She'd also been keeping a surreptitious (he hated being fussed over) and attentive eye on Zidane's condition; he was masterful at feigning well-being. Nevertheless, he _had_ made an exceptional recovery after his fever and had been raring to go just two days subsequent to his collapse. He hadn't shown signs of illness since, though this didn't lessen Garnet's scrutiny. Now that she knew the thief wasn't as indomitable as he made out, she furtively ensured that rest was given to prevent any similar calamities. If Zidane suspected her concern he didn't voice his irritation, which pleased her immensely.

Speaking of rest, they'd been trekking through the vast forest for a good five hours now. The heavy clouds obscured what little light the pine trees let through their spindly branches, but Garnet assumed the day was coming to an end. Not so much by judging the receding light, but by the surge in zealous hooting from the owls surrounding them.

"Zidane," the princess called, "shall we make camp, soon?"

Vivi, who was playing the unusual role of walking ahead, stopped and wrung his hands anxiously. "B-but… we might almost be there!"

Zidane crossed his arms and stared contemplatively at the canopy, unperturbed by the rain, it seemed, and relayed his opinion on their current whereabouts. "I don't think we're nearly there yet. I reckon we're barely halfway."

They'd gotten a good look at the forest from a jagged outcropping just before they'd entered, and Garnet had been shocked and somewhat dismayed by the sheer enormity of the place; a vast blanket of never-ending green. They'd only been walking for a day, so Zidane was right: there was no way they were anywhere near the alleged settlement yet.

Vivi slumped forward, obviously forlorn, and Zidane offered a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, Vivi, but we need to stop sometime. It's not safe to walk through the night. The monsters here…" He absently rubbed his chest where the material of his shirt was severed by a lengthy gash: a close call healed by Garnet's magic. "Let's set up camp… and then we'll be up bright early tomorrow to continue our search."

This seemed to placate the little mage and he perked upright, nodding vigorously and chirping, "Bright and early!"

Zidane grinned and the party's pace slowed to a blissful crawl as they scouted the area for a suitable campsite. The blonde deemed a small space twenty feet from the main pathway passable and Garnet concurred. It was hidden within a thicket of dying, rubbery leaves and a covering of dead pine needles gave the ground a pleasant buoyancy.

Garnet and Quina scouted the surrounding area (far enough to explore efficiently but close enough for Zidane to hear their calls if they were attacked) for edible plant life. The Qu was expert at locating and identifying such substances, so they returned with a feast of berries, mushrooms and roots, though the princess would have chosen a warm meal over such culinary any day. But of course, with the relentless rain there wasn't a stick dry enough to sustain even a measly spark, and as a result cooked food was a luxury long forgotten that evening.

When they re-entered the camping grounds Garnet found Zidane hunched over his leather rucksack mumbling to himself, the contents of aforementioned scattered across the forest floor. Vivi's belongings were likewise and the mage surveyed them fretfully.

"Something wrong?" the girl asked, dumping the food where Quina tersely gestured.

Zidane didn't answer right away, just threw a few more things from rucksack to floor before picking it up, turning it upside down and giving it a vigorous shake. He then dropped it to the ground and looked up at her with a very apologetic expression.

"Umm…"

"What?"

"I kinda forgot to restock when we reached Conde Petie."

The implication of this admission was lost on the princess. "What does that mean?"

"It meeanns," the thief drawled, "that we kinda maybe possibly might only have one tent…"

Garnet blinked. Beads of rain glittered on her eyelashes. "Um…"

"It means we're all gonna have to share a tent."

The princess stared round at the travellers. How in Bahamut's name would they all accommodate a single tent? It would be a snug fit to say the least… and what with Quina's size and Zidane's lecherous nature…

"No way," was her reply, a little more biting than intended. "We can't all fit in a single tent!"

Zidane cast his eyes downward, expression moody. "You're right. I guess I'll sleep outside…"

And then, as if to spite his offer, the rain abruptly increased its onslaught, and Garnet yelped and ran for cover beneath a particularly broad tree. Vivi cuddled up to her legs but Zidane remained where he sat, blonde hair slick against his forehead and tail decidedly limp; he looked very sorry for himself.

The princess sighed heavily and recalled the many times he'd aided her (she'd long since stopped counting) and how ill he'd been in the marshland. And as recovered as he seemed to be now, she thought it unwise to tempt fate. So in the end, Garnet indulged his self pity and said, "Oh Zidane, don't look like that. You can share the tent with us. I mean, you can't very well sleep outside in this rain."

He perked up – a little too quickly perhaps. "Thanks Dagger! I'll set up the tent, okay? You guys wait there until the rain lessens a bit." Funny how he didn't mind the rain now.

The princess was more than happy to adhere to his request, though. She shivered as moisture trickled down her spine. There was a muted splash as the brim of Vivi's hat – which had been collecting rainfall for the last five minutes – gave way and a watery cascade splattered upon her foot. Quina, on the other hand, seemed unperturbed by the precipitation. S/he squatted in the opening, cleaning mushrooms and de-stemming berries, humming a strange tune beneath his breath.

"Quina, won't you come out of the rain?" Garnet called, the downpour chorusing her query.

The Qu looked up, clearly disgruntled by the interruption. "No. I no mind rain. Little rain never hurt anyone."

Garnet pondered on Quina's definition of 'little'. The intensity of the rain was making the branches bow. "But you're getting awfully wet."

"I no care!" the Qu snapped. "I sleep here."

Garnet cocked her head doubtfully. "You'll sleep out in the rain?"

"You deaf? I say I no mind rain."

This tetchy admission had earned the interest of Zidane, who was grappling with a series of poles used to erect the tent material. "Eh? So you'll sleep outside? That's good. We need all the room we can get."

"Zidane!" Garnet yelled, aghast. "You can't expect Quina to sleep out here!"

The thief shrugged and went back to putting up the tent. Garnet pursed her lips. "Well… if you don't mind, Quina."

"You stop talking now," was the Qu's response, and Garnet politely complied. Such was the nature of the temperamental marsh dweller.

…

"Are you okay, Dagger?"

An hour later, the princess was wriggling into her tangle of blankets, uncomfortable before she'd even attempted to settle. Usually she would command her own tent; meaning uncomfortable items of clothing could be removed at leisure. If circumstances had differed, she would've removed them all and hung them over the upper pole to dry for the morning. Of course that was now impossible. She'd have to make do with sleeping in her clammy overalls and sopping blouse. She could feel the blankets soaking up the moisture already.

"I'm fine," Garnet reassured the little mage. "Just a tad uncomfortable. My goodness, it's cramped in here! What's it going to be like when Zidane gets in?"

Vivi snuggled beneath the blankets. "I like it. It's cosy."

"That's a nice way to put it." Nice, indeed. But not an adjective Garnet would veer toward as she scrunched herself into a more tolerable position, back crushed against Vivi's right arm and nose tickling the oilcloth wall of the tent. Well, at least the blanket offered some respite to the chill night air.

A moment later and muffled footfalls could be heard approaching the tent. There was a general kafuffle involving the various buckles that latched the door and then the flap was thrown aside and Zidane crawled into the tiny space, showering the blanketed couple with a fresh fall of raindrops as he shook himself like a dog.

"Area's monster free," his vibrant voice announced. "And Quina's snoring beneath a tree. Man, I don't know how s/he can deal with the rain. It's bucketin' down out there." A weighty pause. "So um… where am I sleeping?"

"Next to Vivi," Garnet replied immediately, which, in other words, meant the other side of the tent. Of course, the space itself was no more than four feet, so Zidane could easily lean across to reach her. However, she couldn't imagine he'd be inclined to disturb Vivi from slumber for a mere grope (though he'd ride a Gargant for one, a little voice reminded her) but it was far better than sleeping directly next to the prurient boy, anyway.

Of course, the thief voiced his disappointment with a flourish as soon as Garnet's disinclination to sleep beside him became apparent, and all such flourishes were inevitably ignored, so in the end he shrugged out of his jacket, neck cloths, shirt, belts and boots (clearly not as reserved as the princess) and dived beneath his own blankets with a theatrical sigh.

…

The night wore on and Garnet listened to the pleasant drum of rain against the tent's exterior. Even breathing from Vivi and light snores from Zidane informed her that both boys were asleep, and she felt a melancholy envy. Her plaited hair was still soaking, her clothes and blankets were damp and several muscles were cramping up; sleep evaded her. She longed for space.

If only there was a way to ease her discomfort…

An idea popped into her head.

Slowly, she manoeuvred herself into a sitting position. Vivi mumbled and shuffled, but didn't wake, and Zidane's snores didn't cease. It was too dark to see anything, even silhouettes were indistinguishable; she was lost within depthless black. But that's precisely what she wanted.

Ever so quietly, Princess Garnet Til Alexandros began to remove her clothes.

First came the gruelling task of loosening the ties of her overalls and unthreading them through the eyelets. It took a lot of fruitless pulling and biting of her lower lip, and her arms were stiff from being laid upon. Somehow she managed, and when this was done she slid her arms through the straps and pushed the garment down below her waist, where she had to wriggle and squirm on her back to push them further. Darn the tightness of her garments! Once they'd slid past her thighs she used her bare feet to ease them down her legs until finally she was free.

She lay still for a moment, listening. Nothing had changed but still she feared Zidane possessed some sort of internal radar that would alert him if a girl was undressing in his presence (it wouldn't have surprised her in the slightest). She was just _waiting_ for the crude remark or the audacious hand to caress her thigh.

Thankfully none came, so the princess shrugged out of her drenched blouse and threw it maliciously across the tent. Her necklace was freezing against her bare skin so she removed that too, placing it more respectfully beneath her damp pillow.

Thank the gods! Liberty at last! She lay back down with an exaggerated flourish, feeling gloriously less-wet in nothing but her reasonably dry bask and underpants. She swaddled herself in the blanket, feeling cooler but substantially more comfortable and closed her eyes to sleep.

…

Unlike most people, Garnet was fortunate enough to claim never to have been awoken in a sudden, unpleasant manner. As a princess she was always encouraged to rise early, but the servants would rouse her from slumber in the gentlest manner possible. She would awake gradually, the sound of doves twittering pleasantries outside her window and the muted hum of conversation seeping through the doors.

So it came as quite a shock - in more ways than one - when an eleven-foot long Zaghnol charged into the side of the tent and released a roar so terrifyingly loud Garnet reckoned it shook the very roots of the trees.

Not that she had time to construct such metaphors as the tent was catapulted across the opening ("Holy fucking shiiiit –" was all she caught of Zidane's reaction) and top became bottom and bottom became top and the darkness whirled around her and dear _gods am I dreaming what in Ramuh's name is -_

Then the tent hit something hard (a tree presumably) and Garnet fully awakened, trembling with shock. She was tangled in a phalanx of blankets, clothes and limbs, all of which seemed to be groaning and swearing and writhing. Then she managed to discern a _tharump-tharump-tharump_ and –

"Shit it's fucking coming ag –"

And a terrible pain exploded up her back as the yet-to-be-identified beast launched its bulk at their sleeping quarters again and the tent was rammed against the trunk. During this time (a blurry, disorientating few seconds) Zidane recovered his wits and navigated his way to the entrance while pulling and shoving what he assumed to be his two stunned compatriots.

Just as they cleared the facility the Zaghnol butted the tent a third time. Garnet stumbled away, tripped over a raised root and landed gracelessly on her behind where the pine needles gleefully bit into her bare flesh. There was no light; the moon was cloaked behind thick blankets of cloud and the rain was a thin drizzle misting her skin. She could hear the angry snorts of the beast and the sound of Zidane rummaging nearby, searching for his daggers no doubt.

"Zidane!" the princess called which was immediately followed by a frantic: "Shut up it'll hear you – " and the trampling of hooves and – "RUN!"

Garnet scrambled to her feet, eyes wide but hopelessly blind, and groped for the trunk and pulled herself round just as the terrifying thunder of hoofbeats trampled the earth on which she'd just lain. Could Zaghnol's see in the dark? She didn't know, or care to find out. She positioned herself round the other side of the tree and heard Zidane hiss: "Vivi! Cast a fire spell! I need some light!"

She heard a stuttering from the other side of the clearing and suddenly there was a bright, fiery illumination, all dancing embers and spitting flames and there it was: the Zaghnol, enormous and tossing its massive horns.

Zidane wasted no time, and neither did Quina (alert and fork in hand), as they leapt toward the growling beast. Vivi's Fire spell petered out and he cast another, holding it in the palms of his hands as long as his magic allowed. When the light chased the darkness away Garnet saw Zidane astride the Zaghnol, one dagger between his teeth and the other making a dark slash across its throat. It was bucking madly, the thief holding onto its mane, and then there was a plume of blood. For a surreal, giddy moment Garnet thought it looked like the beast was wearing a crimson scarf, and then the terrifying sound of its death cry echoed across the clearing and Vivi's Fire spell died and she heard the rumbling thump of its great hide hitting the ground.

For a moment, the only sound that could be heard was the soft pattering of rain upon leaves and the ragged panting of the living.

Then Zidane said: "Holy shit, man, where the fuck did that come from!?"

Garnet exhaled, still clutching the tree in a mad death-hug. She abruptly became aware of the rough bark against her cheek and chest, of the pine needles nipping her bare feet and the feathery caress of the rain.

"Everyone okay?" Zidane called. "Dagger? You alright?"

"Y-yes!"

She heard him sigh with relief. "Vivi, can you cast another Fire spell? We need to put the tent back up. We'll move it away from the carcass in case it attracts other meat-eaters."

And so they set up camp again in the light of Vivi's flickering fire. It cast eerie shadows that flitted and danced and made them nervous and tetchy. And it was while Zidane was setting up the tent (which had been saved the full extent of the Zaghnol's horns, thank the gods) that he happened to glance at the princess. And do a double take.

"Um…"

Garnet paused airing the blankets to turn her attention to the thief, and promptly froze beneath his gaze. During the ruckus she'd completely forgotten about –

"Where are your clothes?"

That.

"Oh um… I err… they were… wet…and so I…I…" she fumbled uselessly.

Even by the tentative light cast by Vvi's spell, she could tell that Zidane's attention was shamelessly diverted to locations other than her face, and she became painfully aware of her uncovered legs, the tightly drawn bask and the flimsy cotton shielding other intimate areas. When he really didn't stop his indiscreet surveillance after a whole agonising two minutes (and Garnet began fervently wishing the presence of her esteemed body guard) she finally snapped and shouted: "Stop staring! It's not like you haven't seen an undressed woman before!"

Zidane blinked at her for a moment or two, then his lips twisted into the most lecherous smirk she'd ever seen and he countered this with: "Well, no, but gods damn it all, I aint never seen an undressed woman as fine as you." And with that said he promptly ignored her and continued assembling the tent, leaving Garnet in a state of utter shock and revulsion.

…

Of course, after that incident, Garnet would have preferred to be fully dressed. But she was still wet, her clothes were still wet and Zidane was wide-awake, and she didn't fancy provoking further humiliation by dressing in front of him, so she went to bed still garbed only in her undergarments. She rolled herself up in copious amounts of blankets with Vivi sandwiched between herself and a suspiciously quiet thief, and closed her eyes.

Astonishingly, sleep came easily. The blankets were soft against her bare skin and quickly warmed her. She began reconsidering Vivi's definition of 'cosy' and closed her eyes to settle in for the night, praying morning's arrival to be swift and uneventful.

Her prayers were left unanswered; the gods were in a frivolous mood.

A scant two hours after the Zaghnol incident, Garnet was awoken once again, albeit in a much less intrusive manner. The sound of blankets shifting and whispers, faint as leaves rustling in a breeze. She woke slowly and blinked into the blackness. She heard the tent's flap being unbuckled and heard someone slip out. She thought nothing of it (people came and went to do their business all through the night) and drifted between slumber and wakefulness for another few minutes, her face peeking out the top of a blanket-sausage-roll.

Soft footfalls on the forest floor outside, the gentle lullaby of rain and the flap opening once more. The muted rustle of blankets and more whispers. She strained her ears but caught very little. They were so quiet and the blankets impeded her hearing.

_"…don't think…should…"_

_"…worry about…wont mind…"_

_"…be angry…I…"_

_"…up early… wont notice I'm…"_

The whispers rose and fell like the lapping of a tide upon soft sand. More shuffling and faint movement against her back and the pleasant drumming of rain and then her eyes drew downward and sleep claimed her completely.

…

Morning.

The light was muted through the oilcloth, which glowed a soothing hue in the early radiance. The birds were deafening; a mish-mash chorus that drowned every competing sound into obscurity. It was this natural song that greeted Garnet as she grudgingly awoke, musing that she'd not slept half as long as she'd of liked, but felt vaguely refreshed anyway.

Thoroughly content, Garnet squirmed within her snarl of blankets (a mock stretch on her behalf) and startled when the blanket squirmed back and released a great sigh.

Her eyes snapped open and she found herself staring at the sturdy line of a collarbone.

For a moment she could do nothing but blink dumbly, her head inching back very slowly to scrutinize her position. Her 'blankets' true form sprang to life: the tight snare of the material had been an arm, firmly fixed about her waist; the close warmth against her front had been a bare chest and the cushy grip below had been a tail, coiled tightly around her right leg.

Zidane.

She was lying on her left side and he on his right, fast asleep, chin resting just above her head. Both teenagers were wrapped snugly within each other's embrace and a scattering of blankets.

Her thoughts were like a blank blackboard. She imagined herself before the board, chalk in one hand braced against the surface, but could find nothing to write. As were her thoughts now, she could not think.

_How…? When…? What…?_

An explosion of mountainous emotions.

Anger.

_How dare he! _How dare he have the audacity to sneak beneath her blankets and embrace her! How dare he have the nerve to do such a thing to the future queen of Alexandria! How dare he take advantage of her sleeping, half-naked form in such a way! And anger at herself for being stupid enough not to dress.

Humility.

_I… He… We're…_ She abruptly became aware of his bare torso, pressed against her scantly clad chest. Of the sculpted muscle beneath tanned skin. Of the warmth he radiated, wonderful and sweet. Of his arm fixed around her waist, holding her close, hand limp against her lower back. Of their legs clumsily interwoven. Of his tail's firm grip around her thigh, furry and slightly ticklish. She'd never been this close to a man before, especially not virtually nude. Her cheeks were burning furiously.

Nervousness.

_Gods, what if someone sees us? Has Vivi seen us? He's so young! Would he get the wrong idea? What is the idea here? What is Zidane's intention? Did he do this in his sleep? Did I put my arm around him in _my_ sleep? Dear Eidolons, I don't remember! What if we did something…? _

And something she couldn't quite place…

A delicious fire was unfurling in the pit of Garnet's belly, spreading blistering tendrils to every nerve ending she possessed. Her heart was fluttering like a bird trapped in a cage and she found herself resisting the urge to draw closer, to press her face against his torso, to tangle herself further against him, just pretend to be asleep and wait until he wakes up to sort everything out –

She leaned back.

Gods, what was she thinking!? This… this had probably been his plan all along! To woo her – no! To have another grope without permission! The… the scoundrel! The dirty thief! He… he had taken advantage of her! _Again_!

Anger boiled and bubbled and spat and the pleasant fire turned into something biting and black.

Garnet tore out of his embrace and Zidane awoke quite suddenly, gasping as his slumbering mind was forcefully awakened. With his wits barely gathered he gawped stupidly down at the scantly clad princess before him and the tiniest frown drew his eyebrows downward.

The look of genuine surprise on his features might have been noted had Garnet's anger been half of what it had mounted to, and before he had the chance to defend his actions she curled into a ball and kicked him hard in the stomach. Zidane grunted and doubled forward, clutching his abdomen, and she kicked him again on the shoulder, screaming: "GET OUT! GET OUT! _GET OUUUTTT_!"

She barely gave him time to gather his wits and rush out the door. She managed to plant another three kicks to various body parts (he had the right of mind to cover his groin with one hand) as he stumbled out the opening into the early morning sun – dazed and half-asleep – taking numerous blankets and a terrified Vivi with him.

Back in the tent, Garnet lay on her back and pressed a hand to her face. Her heart was a fist pounding against her ribcage and her body wore the remnants of his body heat like a tightly fitting dress. His tail had been coiled about her leg so firmly it had left a faint red mark, and she absently stroked it with her other hand, feeling angry, confused, giddy and embarrassed. Her thoughts were chaotic, her emotions in an uproar, and she shockingly found herself wishing she'd let the embrace last just a few minutes longer.

Most of all, Princess Garnet fervently wished she'd never caught that damn fever.

* * *

As _.14karatgold._ said, I think we've all caught Zidane's fever somewhat, mwahaha! Well… at least I have :_swoon_: Garnet doesn't know how lucky she is waking up to half-naked monkey boy in the morning :_chases Garnet with Quina's fork_: APPREICATE HIM DAMN YOU!

Um… sorry if I told you this chap was gonna be about Conde Petie. I lied. Ha. But, seriously, I'm an idiot and got the timeline mixed up. :_shrug_: And Zidane's audacious actions will be explained in later chapters so stop scowling at the screen!

For the record, I hate being woken up by sudden, loud noises. I spend about six hours stumbling around going 'Who…? What…? Where…?' until someone slaps me or throws water over me. And have you ever tried sleeping in wet clothes? Bleh. I hate camping…

Much thanks to those that reviewed; they're always appreciated. Xanthera: Fanart makes me happy! :_dances_:

If you likey please leave review!


	4. The Rosewood Box

(The Rosewood Box)

Earlier, Zidane had said something peculiar to Garnet. Something that had been thrown on the tail end of the conversation offhandedly, the way one might remark upon the weather. But the way his voice had become heavy beneath veiled emotion, the way his eyes had fixed upon the floor and how he turned stiffly. It kindled her curiosity and brought life to the conversation the way an accessory might transform a plain dress. What he'd said, the way he'd said it; it was smothering her every thought like the ocean obscures the seabed beneath. Absolutely.

So as Garnet lay upon the quilts, staring up at the thatched roof of the inn, she pondered upon Zidane and his multifaceted personality. She felt like she was peeling away layers, delving deeper into the thief's thoughts and feelings, and was surprised to discover there was more to him than a lecherous, girl-obsessed, light-fingered scoundrel.

"Soooo… you sleeping naked tonight?"

Well, perhaps not _much_ more.

Garnet turned to consider the pair of blue eyes peering over the mattress of her top-bunk, a sprinkling of mischief churning in their depths. "Shoo, fly," she said.

"I wish I _was_ a fly," Zidane declared melodramatically, "so I could sit on the wall and watch you undress all day long."

Garnet swatted the air inches from his face and he leapt back with a yelp, obviously misjudging the severity of her reaction. "Really, Zidane, this is hardly the right time for your lewd antics."

"It's never the right time with you…" he countered grumpily, and she listened to the sounds of him removing loose articles of clothing, readying himself for bed. This bought to mind all kinds of embarrassing memories and she rolled onto her side, back facing the little room, and tried to cleanse herself of such thoughts.

"And you never answered my question," the thief continued in a sing-song voice, "about your sleeping naked. I mean, what if you fall outta bed or something? I'd have to lift you back on so I need to know in advance whether to close my eyes or not. And -"

"Firstly," Garnet impeded, "why on Gaia would you need to lift me? I'm more than capable of climbing into bed. Secondly, you and I both know you most certainly would _not_ close your eyes. You don't possess the decency." Zidane offered nothing more than a playful snort to testify her accusations. "And thirdly, I want to make the most of sleeping in a bed, so if I must share a room with you kindly silence yourself over the next few hours." As an afterthought: "And I am not sleeping naked, so I wont stand for any of your mischief, thank you very much."

Zidane made a little noise that was somewhere between indignation and disappointment before he slipped beneath the covers and crossly buried his head under a pillow.

During this small pocket of (doubtlessly fleeting) silence and while Garnet awaited the onset of sleep, she allowed herself time to reflect upon the past few days and their current whereabouts: the Black Mage Village.

What surprised her most was the cheeriness of it all. The imagery that accompanied thoughts of black mages was generally unpleasant: war, her mother's blackened personality and superfluous death (bar Vivi of course, whose imagery was polar opposite). So how could this village, inhabited by the very beings that plunged the world into misery, be such a cheery place? Even the wooden huts (which Garnet thought were dear little things) had smiley faces carved into their walls! The place was everything she hadn't expected: vibrant, merry, quaint and underlined by a naivety both worrying and touching.

And it wasn't just the village that was in stark contrast to the stereotype; the mages were different too. They were timid and nervous, often scuttling away before contact could be made and their voices were not unlike Vivi's: rich and quiet, full of life and innocence. They were naïve and curious, too, uneducated in the simplest things. She felt akin to them in that sense as she recalled her early days learning to shed her princess demeanour.

They'd reached the Black Mage Village mid-afternoon, and she had been eager to explore and part ways with a certain thief. She brusquely excused herself from his presence whenever he caught up to her and fervently cursed his persistence. Why couldn't he bother someone else for a change? Though she had to credit him; his behaviour had improved somewhat since the little… incident. He had slept outside the tent every night henceforth, whatever the weather and without protest.

Still, his clingy, desperate attitude and incessant wooing (all of which had noticeably increased since Steiner's absence) was beginning to grate on her nerves and she longed for a moment's respite.

And she had hoped to earn that respite at the inn, but upon discovering the single room and the single bunk bed, her hopes were cruelly dashed. She had been on the verge of suggesting he sleep elsewhere, when Vivi's growing despondency overruled her irritation, and she voiced her worry to Zidane, who bounced it right back with the offhand remark that perplexed her so…

…

When Garnet had been no more than eight, and her mother was the sweet, kind person she so fondly remembered, Duke Mariano of Treno bought the queen a gift. A beautiful jewellery box carved from the finest rosewood, delicate hinges of gold latching a lid adorned with rubies that swirled into the image of a rose. It was – then and now – the most beautiful jewellery box Garnet had ever seen. But despite this, the box wasn't the object of her attention.

Like most little girls, her mother's jewellery had been the source of much wanting. Brahne had been happy for the princess to play with some, but there were items too expensive and too precious to let fall into the maladroit hands of an eight-year-old child. So where did all this highly prized jewellery go? Into the rosewood box, of course.

Garnet was well aware of this and spent several afternoons sneaking into her mother's chamber to stare forlornly at the pretty object while mightily wishing she had access to the glories within.

Then on a day not exceptionally auspicious, while playing with her dolls at the end of her mother's bed, Garnet spotted a ceramic cup containing a collection of keys. Her little mind jolted to life as she contemplated what this could mean, and finally grabbed the cup and tottered over to the rosewood box.

The lock was positioned on the side and was an ornate gadget, welded into the crest of Alexandria. Garnet fiddled with numerous keys until a delicate gold one offered a snug fit and released the device with a little click. Heart hammering excitedly, Garnet peered round to make sure no one was looking then flipped the lid…

… and groaned in disappointment. Lying in tangled clumps upon a crimson velvet stratum was her mother's dullest, cheapest jewellery. Jewellery she'd played with countless times. She wanted the beautiful things: the sapphire pendants, the jade bracelets, the diamond earrings! She'd wanted and wanted and for what? The princess felt how a man must feel after lugging a treasure chest up a hill only to find it full of rocks.

In a childish fit of anger, the princess thumped the side of the rosewood box. The jewellery clattered against each other and – oh!

Garnet clapped her hands to her mouth and stared wide eyed at the ornate tray cradling the jewellery. It had come away at the edge and fallen down! She'd broken it! Oh goodness, mother would be so angry and –

A muted sparkle caught the girl's attention and she peered closer. There was something beneath the velvet tray. Carefully, Garnet gripped the edges of the platform and eased it upward. Much to her surprise it came away completely, revealing another layer beneath. And this one had jewellery much finer than the last, too!

Grinning, the princess carefully put aside the top layer and wedged her fingers into the second. This one lifted out too, revealing yet another hidden level with different jewellery, more exquisite than the former levels combined. Her excitement mounting further, Garnet removed another layer, and another, until she found the diamond earrings Uncle Cid had given mother as a birthday present and the pearl-encrusted necklace father had bought as a wedding-anniversary gift. Those were the two most precious jewellery items her mother owned, and there was still one more level! What could possibly be more precious?

With much care and nervous anticipation, Garnet lifted away the final stratum to reveal a garnet, perfectly cut and shining brighter than sunlight on water. It was the size of her fist and a dusky russet, the most beautiful thing she'd ever set eyes on, and despite her eagerness to play with her mother's jewellery, she couldn't bring herself to touch something so precious.

…

Was it a foolish reverie to think that beneath the numerous fronts Zidane paraded something precious and astounding was waiting to be discovered? She thought herself a hopeless romantic for thinking so, but found that with every layer Garnet removed of Zidane's personality she found something more likeable, more precious beneath. What waited below the next level? What was at the core of his being? She was intrigued and beyond curious, always surprised that with every level she managed to shift the more she… she… well, _liked_ him.

And so, with the rosewood box in mind, Garnet sought the courage to question his earlier remark, and wondered if levels could be removed not just by an individual but also with the help of someone else.

…

"Zidane…" she began tentatively, his name a drawn out note. "When you said home…"

Her voice sailed the waves of the night, overpowering the incessant chirp of the crickets outside and the ghostly hooting of the owls. She knew he was awake; she could hear him tapping a restless tune against the quilt with his tail, and occasionally discern a meditative sigh.

"What's the matter?" he said. "Can't fall asleep? How about a bedtime story? Let's see… Once upon a time…"

Garnet felt at once irritated at both herself and at him. Herself, for wanting to crack his rosewood-box personality in the first place, and at him because he'd met her attempt with flippancy.

"There you go again, teasing me," she snapped, shuffling beneath the blankets. She was about to extend her statement into an admonishment when he suddenly continued with: "Once upon a time… there was a man."

His voice. Distant, melancholy. "Zidane…?"

"This man had longed to find his birthplace ever since he was a small child. His birthplace. A place he only remembered in his dreams…"

There was a small pause, and Garnet seized this chance to wedge her fingers into this layer of the rosewood box. "Why?"

"He wanted to know more about himself, maybe. About his parents, the house where he was born…" A weighty pause which he used more for the sake of theatrics than actual thinking. "One day, the man left the home of his adoptive father and went on a quest to find the answer. His only clue was the blue light he saw in his dreams…"

"A blue light?" Garnet repeated.

"Yeah. He thought it might be a memory of his birthplace. An ocean maybe…?" Here he trundled off, as if actually considering the possibility, and in fear of losing grip Garnet quickly snapped him back with: "Did he find it?"

"Hey you're jumping ahead! A lot of things happened on the way!" He hummed an indecisive note. "Alright, we can skip ahead… No, he never found it. How could he? His only clue was a coloured light. So he went back to the home of his adoptive father… What do you think the father did when he came home?"

Garnet paused, remembering the time she'd gone to Lindblum to visit Uncle Cid without her mother, and when she'd returned the queen's eyes had sparkled with tears of joy and she had wailed over and over 'I missed you, Garnet! I missed you!'. So she said: "… Welcomed him home?"

He spluttered. "No way!" The surprise and indignation in the words startled the princess, but not as much as: "The father raised his fists and beat the son he'd worked so hard to raise…"

"Why?"

"I don't know... But you know what surprised him even more? The father smiled, after beating up his son! Can you believe that? He just gave his son a beating. But this is what the man thought when he saw his father smile..." Another pause that wasn't so much theatrical as it was genuinely emotional. "This is my home. This is the place I call home." He sighed. "The man is still looking for his birthplace. But he already has a home. Maybe...it's the same for Vivi. He's looking for a place to call home."

Garnet swallowed and stared at the thatched roof. The moon's radiance turned everything into a checkerboard of silver and black. She had been right: the deeper she delved into the rosewood box, the more precious the jewellery became.

"So, did my bedtime story make you sleepy?" Zidane asked, the levity back in his voice.

Garnet didn't reply but eased herself into a sitting position and bent her knees. She rested her chin on them and ran fingers through her loose hair. "Hey… Zidane… do you… um, will you come sit on the bed with me?"

"E-eh!? What?" the thief squeaked.

"I don't feel tired," the princess explained, "and I feel like talking. Come sit on the end of the bed. I feel like I'm talking to a ghost at the moment; I can't see you at all."

"Errr… Oka_aay_…"

There was a rustling of blankets and then the sound of footfalls and Zidane's face blossomed over the top of her bed. He hoisted himself up without the aid of the ladder and (unsurprisingly) made a beeline for the princess.

"Oh no you don't," she said and gave him a brusque push with her foot. "You sit over there." He stuck his bottom lip out but she wouldn't be fazed. "_Over_ _there_," she reiterated firmly.

He retreated to where she'd indicated at the foot of the bed, giving her time to contemplate (for a second time that week) his naked torso. "Can't you put some clothes on?"

"I'll put some clothes on if you take some off," was the bargain as he bunched the quilt up against the wall to make the seating more accommodating. "Deal?"

"No deal," she stated firmly and tugged the covers to crumple his makeshift pillow.

"H-hey!" he yelped. "No fair! Cover-hogger!"

"They're _my_ covers!"

"Tsk, tsk. Someone needs to learn how to share."

"You've got your own covers – use them!"

Zidane dropped to the mattress and rolled himself in the quilt, pulling them completely away from Garnet as he did so, and with a dreamy sigh said, "Yeeaah but these smell like you. All nice and flowery…"

He was a mountain of quilts now, nothing visible aside the fuzzy tail sticking out the bottom and a face poking out the top like a moon in a hazy sky. She could discern his dopey grin even in the shadows.

"Oaf!" she yelled without much venom, and gave him a kick. "Give me back my covers!"

"Never! I have claimed this mountain for my own. And on behalf of the Mist Continent I name this peak 'Mount Tribal'."

"After you," Garnet indulged his sad humour, though promptly drew the line when he said: "No, actually, after my enormous member – yeow! No kicking!"

"I'll cease kicking if you cease the vulgarities," was the bargain.

"No deal," came the answer, so Garnet gave him another few kicks (all of which were absorbed by the quilt) before admitting defeat and reclining against her pillows.

"I don't understand you," she thought aloud, pondering the moving mound of covers.

"Meh. 'The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious'."

"Oh-ho! Luciano, is it? Goodness, Zidane, you go from naming quilts to reciting quotes from literary geniuses! I really _don't_ understand you. Are you fond of Luciano?"

"Never met him. But his work is okay, I guess. Boss made me read some of his stuff for one of the plays we did a few years back. Research, I guess."

Garnet thought about this. "Do you miss them?"

"Luciano?"

"No! Tantalus."

Zidane averted his gaze and stared off into the distance. His tail twitched, and she realised she'd unwittingly hit a sensitive subject. Not another level to be removed, surely? Two in one night! What a vast jewellery box she'd stumbled across…

"No," he replied, then grimaced. "Well, maybe. Kinda. They're my brothers, but I guess everyone's gotta leave the nest sometime, eh? And I can't find a better reason to leave than you."

It was meant to be one of his crude attempts to flatter her, but she felt her heart constrict and guilt prickle. "Don't say that! You make me feel like I've torn you from your family!"

Zidane snorted. "Is that what you think? Honestly, Dagger, it was my decision. Can we please drop this subject? Let's talk about you. I want to know more about you."

She eyed him warily. "Me? I'm not very interesting…"

"I beg to differ."

"You would." She sighed. "Well, what do you want to know? And none of your silliness, please."

The mountain suddenly sprouted arms, which Zidane used to push the covers downward until they pooled about his waist. His chest was a rugged landscape of shadows and she averted her gaze awkwardly.

"Well… Okay how about this. Do you like being away from Rusty?"

Garnet shrugged. "I don't feel as smothered, if that's what you mean. I respect his duty, and treasure the protection and loyalty, and his intentions are wholly good. He cares for me and my kingdom. But yes, I am enjoying the freedom his absence entails." She sent Zidane a steady stare. "I know you and Steiner are not overly fond of each other, but I wont tolerate you bad-mouthing him while he's away."

The thief held up his hands. "Hey, hey. Who said anything about bad mouthing? Okay, question number two. If I'd been a noble, or a prince or something, would you of considered marrying me?"

"Wh-what!? Z-Zidane, you can't be serious!"

"Oh c'mon, it's not a hard question! A princess wouldn't consider marrying a thief, right? So what if I'd been a noble?"

Garnet looked away and plucked the edge of her mattress nervously. How had she gotten herself into this situation? "Well… err… I think, I think if you'd been born of noble blood you would be quite a different person. It's our upbringing and experiences that define our personalities. I can't imagine you'd be you if you'd been brought up as I had."

Zidane cocked his head. "No. I guess not. Okay, next question!"

"How many questions are there…?"

"What's your favourite food?"

"Gods, Zidane, this is getting a little ridiculous." She thought it over anyway. "Oh, I don't know. I like lots of different things… But the chef used to cook me a baked potato stuffed with leek and mushroom. I liked that. I used to eat it a lot for lunch."

"Really?" Surprise evident within his tone. "Wow that's really… common."

"Hey!"

"No, no, I mean… I used to have that same dish at the pub in the Theatre District. I'd never considered it royal food."

"I don't think it is. I liked it though."

"Okay, next ques-"

"Last one, Zidane."

He pouted. "Weelll, okay." He thought for a moment, eyes squinting and tail gently tapping the mattress. When his gaze returned to the waiting princess he wore a crafty expression. "Did you know… that you talk in your sleep?"

Garnet insides promptly froze. Her thoughts were unreachable for a moment, then she spent time wondering if he was joking. That crafty look in his eye… It was so difficult to interpret. It could mean he was merely teasing, or it could mean he knew something she didn't. She barely gave herself time to consider the awful possibilities of the latter before she said: "I've never talked in my sleep."

"How would you know? You're asleep."

"That's true… but I had maids checking up on me and guards situated outside my bedroom doors at night. They would've known if I'd been –"

"And you think they would've told you if you had?"

"Well, no, but gossip spreads round the castle –"

"Did you know that sleep talking is often partnered with stress and unfamiliar environments and situations?"

She pondered the meaning of his words but didn't like what she unearthed. "So?"

"Sooo… You've been under stress lately, right? Probably why you've started talking in your sleep."

Garnet bit her lip nervously, still undecided whether this was another Zidane-prank or if he was being genuine, for once. Either way, she didn't approve his teasing tone. "Oh stop it, you. Always mocking me."

"Perhaps," he acquiesced. "But I thought I'd let you know, anyway."

A small silence unrolled itself between them like a carpet. The obvious question was glaringly bright before them, and Garnet couldn't resist asking and judging by the infuriating smirk on his face, Zidane fully expected it to come. She guessed he'd tell even if she didn't ask, so she spared him the pleasure.

"What do I say?"

His grin spread further until even teeth were glinting in the moonlight. "Not tellin'."

Of course she'd expected this. And the counter for it came smoothly to her lips. With a theatrical sigh and nonchalant shrug of a shoulder she replied, "Oh well, if that's how you want to be then I guess I wont tell you what _you_ said while you were ill at the marshland."

Zidane's grin dropped like a lead ball. "Eh? What?"

Garnet pretended to contemplate the woodwork of the bunk bed and gave another nonchalant sigh. "Oh you know how it is… when a person becomes delirious with fever it's common for them to talk nonsensically. It's not dissimilar to sleep talking, really, except half the time it's not actually nonsense."

Zidane's tail twitched with agitation, but he put on a good show of feigning indifference. "Pah! I don't have anything to hide. Nothing you say will surprise me! Besides, it can't be half as interesting as some of the stuff you were coming out with that night."

"What night?" Garnet snapped.

Zidane gestured vaguely. "_That_ night. In the tent."

Garnet's stomach plummeted. _Oh gods, what did I say?_ "Okay, so we'll make a deal… you tell me what I said and I'll tell you what you said."

"How do I know you wont make it up?"

"Says the thief to the princess."

"Touché. But still…" The grin sparked to life again. "It's just too good to give away."

"That's a shame," Garnet countered, "because the things you were saying could stun a court to silence."

Zidane grunted and the couple shared an intense, calculating stare for a long moment. The friction was mounting to an uncomfortable high and sensing this, Zidane had the right of mind to flatten the mountain before it erupted.

He yawned and stretched, tail curling upward like a snake emerging from beneath a rock. "Well, I'm bushed. Let's throw down our weapons and call it a draw, eh? We can save this battle for another time. Budge up, I wanna get some sleep."

Garnet snorted. "Oh please. Get back down there."

"Gods, I thought you'd never ask!"

"What's that supposed to mean? Oh, I don't want to know. Please return to your bunk, Zidane Tribal, before I'm forced to summon Ifrit to remove you from this continent completely."

He threw a few more desperate attempts at her (all of which were effortlessly parried) before finally assenting and hopping from top to bottom bunk, gratuitously leaving the quilt at her disposal, which she rearranged it into something more accommodating before settling down for the night.

"You sure you don't want some company?" a little voice drifted through the mattress.

"Come up here," came the reply, "and you'll wake up without a tail."

"Point taken. Sweet dreams, princess. And try not to talk so loudly tonight. I want to get a good night's sleep."

"Ooh, you!" But Garnet's quip lacked spite because she'd just realised that her quilt now smelt of Zidane. She sighed happily, snuggled into the knot of blankets and knew she was in for a good night's sleep.

* * *

I'm glad I don't talk in my sleep. Though if I did I'm sure my boyfriend would be asking 'Why do you keep talking about tails and monkeys? And where is this 'Mount Tribal' you keep talking about?' Hehe.

Just quickly, the quote from 'Luciano' was actually an Oscar Wilde quote, and Zidane and Garnet's dialogue while Zidane told his story was directly from the game.

Anyway, I'm worried that this chap was a little OOC for Garnet, but it was fun to write. Those two compliment each other so well. Conde Petie here we come…


	5. As Long As We Both Shall Live

(As Long As We Both Shall Live)

Conde Petie possessed the most unusual architecture in the world, Garnet reckoned. Even Zidane, whose architectural interest wavered beyond illicit intentions, had made several perceptive comments about the absurdity of the place. The way the village was suspended above a dizzying canyon drop by two enormous roots was just the beginning of its peculiarity. The village itself was constructed from natural materials, and the floors were wreathed in moss and vine. There were pockets of nothingness too; gaps in the floor like knocked out teeth, where stubby walls marked the contours where solid ground ended and thin air began. The dwarves ambled past these punctures with disconcerting indifference; Garnet avoided them like the plague.

And now, as the princess stared up at the rapidly looming architecture of Conde Petie, she felt a mysterious sense of trepidation settle over her soul. When the village had first blossomed into view some miles back it had been but a prick, a nagging at the back of her mind. But it had flourished since then and as she mounted one of the expansive roots to enter the village it felt as if she were being pulled toward the ground; her stomach was twisting in knots.

Kuja, she supposed. It had to be. And it wasn't at all unprecedented; Kuja was a force to be reckoned with. It was only natural for her to feel nervous preceding their confrontation.

And yet… an unfounded instinct hinted that perhaps this wasn't the reason at all. Garnet believed something dreadful was going to happen in Conde Petie, soo it was understandable that as she entered the village and politely mumbled, 'Rally-ho' to the nearest dwarf, she couldn't help but feel a little hesitant.

"I'm gonna find a way through to this Sanctuary, or whatever," Zidane announced. "You guys wait here and I'll come get you in a minute."

_Yeah right_, Garnet thought to herself. Knowing Zidane's definition of 'in a minute' to be highly imprecise, the princess disappeared down the nearest juncture as soon as the thief bounded from sight. She had some things she needed to take care of, anyway.

Aside from wanting to buy copious amounts of tents (lest _that_ mistake ever be repeated) and to restock their usual supplies of food and medicine, she also sought to buy some new clothes. Her overalls were mottled with dirt and grass stains and her blouse was a shadow of its former self in many respects. So after completing her transactions with the storeowner, she asked where to purchase clothing. The woman directed her to Helen Birdkeeper, who apparently owned plenty of spare clothes (due to a profuse amount of children, Garnet was informed) and would be happy to sell her sections of the surplus. Garnet remembered Helen from her first visit to Conde Petie, when the mother had tried to marry her to her son William, and was therefore diffident to approach the woman at first. Yet the mother didn't recognise her at all, and when Garnet relayed her plight she was more than happy to help.

"Ah got many a clothes fer ye, lassie, though ah dinnae ken if they'd fit ye." She had a mole of the side of her face that was sprouting thick hairs, and she scratched this absently as she contemplated Garnet's figure. "Yer mighty big fer a wee lass, are ye no?"

"I… I beg your pardon?" Garnet stuttered, slightly offended.

Helen waved her stubby arms apologetically. "Ah dinnae mean tae offend ye. It's jost that ootsider's arh bigger than oos dwarves, ye oonderstand?"

"I…I guess…"

"Boot Ah might jost have the thin' fer ye. Coom alon', lassie."

Garnet followed the dwarf into a closet like room and the little woman tugged a large trunk from one corner with much grunting and cursing. When she flipped the lid the princess saw it was full of clothes, though she was unable to determine their design because Helen began throwing them this way and that, tutting and grunting and shaking her head until she found, apparently, what she'd been looking for.

"Ah-ha! Try this oan fer size," she said, holding something at arms length.

Absurdly, Garnet thought the dwarf was presenting to her a giant leaf: entirely shapeless and coloured like an evergreen forest. Only when Garnet spotted the intricate embroidery along the hem did she realise it was a dress, and received it from the woman doubtfully.

"It looks a bit small…" she observed, holding it up against her, but Helen just snorted.

"Ye'll never know oonless ye try. Go oan. Ah'll be ootside."

When Helen departed Garnet slipped off her overalls and donned the leaf-dress. On one the dwarf's it might have been ankle length, but on Garnet the hem barely skimmed her knees. She'd never worn anything so revealing in her life! True, her overalls were tight but at least they covered her skin, unlike this dress which left nothing to the imagination concerning her legs. The top of the dress was no better either: sleeveless and dipping low at the neck, it revealed a little more cleavage than Garnet felt comfortable with. Perhaps its only claim to modesty was its amorphous structure; not a curve was revealed from bust to knee.

Just then, Helen bumbled in without knocking and tutted her disapproval at the divulging garment and made several more jabbing comments about Garnet's size. If the sight of her limbs embarrassingly uncovered hadn't been enough dissuade her, the dwarf's comments completely obliterated any lingering inclination.

"I don't think I'll get this," she said. "It's far too small. But thank you for–" She cut herself off abruptly as Zidane went charging past the open door, a look of purpose and slight annoyance on his face. He didn't notice her (thank the gods) but she could tell he was either searching for her or had found a route through the village. Either way, she couldn't waste further time trying on clothes.

So without much thought, she plonked a pile of coins in Helen's hand and announced she'd be buying the dress. She quickly changed back into her former attire, thinking that the leaf-dress wouldn't make such a bad nightgown after all (she really was eager to prevent a reoccurrence of the tent fiasco) and hurriedly made herself decent.

The princess jogged in the direction of the vanished thief. She descended into a wide corridor of cracked stone and ornate archways, lit entirely by natural light bestowed from the heavens. Here she spotted Zidane, who was conversing with an extravagantly dressed dwarf, and she approached him from behind to listen.

"- past this village," Zidane was saying in a tone that suggested his patience was wearing thin.

The dwarf snorted and adjusted his robes in a manner that was either agitated or haughty. "Tradition states that only those who undergo the ceremony kin approach the Sanctuary."

Zidane crossed his arms irritably and Garnet winced. Never had she seen him show an ounce of respect to those whose status demanded it (and obviously this dwarf was of ranking consequence in the village) and she wondered if it would hurt him to mind his manners, for a change. Nonetheless, the boy continued in his brusque manner: "So, what the heck is this ceremony about, anyway?"

"Well," the man began, his face lighting up, "after a man an' a woman are blessed in holy union, they leave oan holy pilgrimage tae the Sanctuary."

Zidane took a moment to comprehend this, but Garnet was well ahead of him. The trepidation she'd felt just an hour earlier returned with vigour – and with explanation.

"So… basically it's a wedding… and a honeymoon, right?" the thief confirmed her fears.

The dwarf raised a bushy brow and replied, "I dinnae ken yir words, laddie, but me thinks ye understandin'."

Garnet's mind was racing. Her first thoughts were of Kuja, and then her mother, the war, the death, the desolation. There was no way she could stop now; she'd do anything to prevent the destruction of more lives. All the nations that had crumbled, that had suffered, that had sacrificed for the sake of their people. Beatrix, Steiner, Freya, Vivi… Nothing must stand in her way! She would continue onward no matter the cost!

So with her thoughts still lurching and jumping like a ship caught on stormy waves, she said, "So we can go to the Sanctuary if we undergo the Ceremony, right?"

Zidane's tail bristled but he turned with a bright smile on his face. "Oh, hey, Dagger! So yeah, that's the deal. Whaddya think? We can go if we get hitched." He laughed, as if his former statement was the punch line to a hilarious joke. And just to clear matters up: "But there's no way we'd actually –"

But Garnet was one step ahead again, thoughts fuelled by the suffering inflicted by her greedy mother and the sadistic Kuja, and she said, "Let's do it."

She'd kind of expected him to laugh, or to spend a few seconds sorting his emotions, but she guessed her expression was more serious than she gave credit for because he leapt back like she'd delivered a punch, tail like a pine tree branch and eyes rounder than owls. His cry "Wh-what!?" echoed across the corridor and several birds took flight.

The dwarf ignored this outburst with surprising unconcern, almost as if he was accustomed to such reaction, which made Garnet smile. "Sae ye wantae be joined, eh? The ceremony's only fer dwarves, see... But we have sae few young folk nooadays. We're doon tae ninety-nine couples. Ah was worryin' aboot that very thin'..." He paused, lost in thought, then gave an exaggerated shrug and said, "But what's the hairm? Now we can have oor hundredth ceremony!"

Garnet smiled, relieved they could continue their journey, and almost forgot about her reluctant groom-to-be until she happened to glance in his direction and found him paler than powered skin. The fur on his tail still hadn't smoothed.

"Uhh… Dagger? Wh-what's going on?"

The princess threw him a wry smile that certainly did nothing to quell the situation and the poor boy looked more confused than ever. And as embarrassing as it was to admit, Garnet found she relished possessing the upper hand for a change. She was throwing his foolish antics right back in his face.

Garnet suppressed a chuckle. _Revenge is sweet._

She breezed past him with hands clasped behind her back and kept her expression blank and uninterested, but Zidane wouldn't have any of it. He ran ahead, attempting to block her path.

"Now, hold on a sec, Dagger," he began, raising his hands palms outward. "Don't you get it? This is marriage, m – a – r – r – i – a – g – e!"

Garnet rolled her eyes, feeling deliciously cruel. "No kidding… But we do have to go on, right?"

"Yeah but… That's not reason enough!"

He sounded so reluctant that she suddenly felt quite angry. He tried so hard to woo her and perhaps she'd fallen for his charms on the odd occasion… But now he was revealing his antics for what they truly were: an act. An act to slake his carnal lusts and nothing more; as soon as any commitment was thrown into the pot he blanched like a kicked dog. Was Zidane really so shallow?

"Oh, come on," she snapped angrily and shoved past him.

They followed the man – who turned out to be a priest – to an unusual structure suspended upon a tangle of bridgework. She'd been astonished on her first visit to discover it was a boat. A very ornate boat, but a boat nonetheless, and when she'd questioned the dwarves about it they'd seemed completely oblivious to its original purpose.

"The ceremony will be doon on yonder Kirkboat," David Heavenguard, the priest, announced. He turned to Garnet and gave her a quick once over. "Will ye be requirin' other garments, lass?"

Her thoughts turned briefly to the leaf-dress and she couldn't suppress a wry smile. "Oh no, that's quite alright, thank you."

But the priest looked agitated by this. "Ye cannae marry in sooch gear, can ye now?"

"Really, this is fine."

David abruptly became disgruntled. "Ah do hope ye not takin' the ceremony glibly. It's a great honor an' is condoocted 'neath the eyes of the gods themselves."

Zidane groaned and ran a hand through his hair, eyes darting nervously and a thin film of perspiration glossing his forehead. _Better get this over with quickly_, the princess thought, even as the severity of the situation bore down on her like heavy rain.

"No, I would never take it lightly. But… uhh… where we're from -" she gestured to herself and Zidane " – it's… it's respectful to marry in the clothes that… that one currently wears… and ah…"

She hadn't expected the priest to go along with her flippant lie, but it seemed he was as uneducated about 'ootsiders' as his kin, so he nodded but couldn't help but add, "Is it no? Ah cannae argue wit' that, lassie. But Ah think it a mighty shame ye no kin wear a ceremonial dress." Disapproval made apparent, he clucked his tongue and ambled off toward the Kirkboat.

Garnet didn't follow at first; she was frozen. His words had unearthed a memory like a dog digging up a bone. She glanced at Zidane.

_(you'll be wearing a white dress)_

Gods! How had she forgotten?

_(we're gonna have a huge wedding)_

Though, if that were the case, shouldn't he be happy they were marrying? Or was his delirious mumblings simply that: delirious mumblings? Or was his true desires hidden so deep (the final level of the rosewood box) that even he had yet to realise them? Zidane stared with what seemed like unabated terror at the Kirkboat. Was his delirious confession really truthful? She had to know.

So they approached the Kirkboat together. Zidane was so silent and nervous Garnet would've laughed, but she was afraid to invoke the fury of Father David and ruin their chances of reaching the Sanctuary. Instead, she paused at the foot of the bridge that led to the elevated platform. A dwarf approached the couple and looped a wreath of white flowers around their necks as tradition apparently stated. And for some reason this small gesture made the 'wedding' seem so much more real and Garnet found little butterflies batting wings against the insides of her belly.

She glanced at Zidane and found him returning the gesture, but he quickly averted his gaze (to think he'd been reduced to such a nervous wreckage!). And then she had to know – simply _had_ to know – so turned to fully face him (earning herself another nervous glance on his behalf) and spurted what had been on her mind for quite some time.

"Zidane, I just… I just want you to know that… that I like the name Gabriella too… I think… it's a g-good name."

The thief's eyes widened a fraction then promptly narrowed as a little frown furrowed his brow. Infuriatingly, she couldn't decipher the look in his eyes. It was unmistakably confusion, but confusion directed at what? Confusion because she knew his secret? Or confusion about her admittance in general? And with this uncertainty came embarrassment and before Zidane had a chance to reply she abruptly turned, feeling very foolish and regretful indeed, and ascended to the Kirkboat for the ceremony.

…

_Well, this is a far cry from Zidane's fantasies of a traditional white wedding, that's for sure._

"Speerits o' the moontain, speerits of the wood…"

_But I guess that's a good thing. I mean, if I was dressed in full wedding regalia and there were loads of guests and witnesses… It would feel like an actual wedding!_

"Watch over this man an' woman as they begin their journey…"

_And it isn't. I have to remember that._

"…In sickness an' in health…"

_It really, really isn't! And as soon as we leave Conde Petie this foolish ceremony will become null. It is simply a means of crossing the border, reaching the Sanctuary and stopping Kuja from destroying my mother and kingdom…_

"Have the strength to cairry ye through the trials…"

_Wow. These sound like proper vows… I hope they're not legally binding. I mean, Father David called it a ceremony, right? So it isn't really a wedding. _

"…An' the wisdom tae follow the path…"

_…I… don't regret that…do I? No, no, Garnet, keep your head together! You can't – and do _not_ want – to marry Zidane Tribal. No matter what he said during his sickness or how I felt in his arms that morning… No! Good lords, this is giving him bad enough ideas as it is, I can't be encouraging him any more than I already have because I _do not feel that way!

"May the blessings o' heaven be upon this man an' woman."

_Gods forgive my intentions during this phoney ceremony, _Garnet silently prayed, gazing skyward_. And gods forgive me if I lead Zidane on… I promise I wont do it anymore, okay? And please please _please_ don't let Zidane take this too seriously…That's all I'm asking for._

"Dagger!" a voice exclaimed beside her. "Now we're man and wife!"

_Darn it._

"Time for the kiss…"

_Double darn it,_ Garnet thought as she turned on her heels and briskly strode away, unable to keep herself from cursing the gods for disregarding her prayers once more, and ignoring the strange crashing sound behind her and the muttered, "Playing hard to get, eh?" as she exited the site of the ceremony and tried to put yet_ another_ escapade behind her.

* * *

I love-love-_loved_ this bit in the game, though I always wondered about what went on in Garnet's head when she was getting 'married'. Oh, and the leaf-dress will actually play a part in future chapters, as well as Garnet's sleep talking…and Zidane's confessions and the thing in the tent... :sigh: It _will_ all come together in the end, I promise, hehe!

Parts of the dialogue are taken directly from the game, once again. I'm a sucker for detail.

Please review!


	6. Slow

(Slow)

Garnet knew Zidane wasn't unintelligent.

"ZZiidddaannne!"

He was actually quite smart, but in a strange way. He had boundless common sense and was educated in things uneducated. He knew… how could she describe it? He knew all the tricks of his trade: how to pick a lock, salvage food, pitch a tent, tie knots, sharpen a blade, cut a purse, memorise script, etc, etc. And he had a lot of general knowledge too, especially about Lindblum.

"I um… I got you this…"

But these things were due to upbringing and his being well travelled. If asked about Thucydides' Theorem or long division he'd either blink dumbly and reply, 'Why would I know that?' or answer evasively and often brashly. The fact Zidane didn't know his nine times tables shocked Garnet the most, because she had laboriously memorised all the times tables up to thirty under the meticulous scrutiny of her tutors (she still hadn't found use for half those tables and didn't think she would as a queen, either) but she never scorned him his ignorance because the common folk of Gaia weren't granted the compulsory education she'd received.

"Huh? What is it?"

When she'd tentatively touched upon the subject he had actually bristled and said, 'What's gonna help me more in life? Knowing how to divide fractions or knowing how to cook?', whereupon Garnet jokingly responded, 'Well, that depends if you're a chef or a mathematician', and Zidane brusquely shrugged the subject off, not liking to be outsmarted, especially by Garnet.

"A flower, silly! It's for you!"

So for a long while she couldn't decide whether Zidane was clever or simply average, and though she did conclude that he often spoke before he thought, her opinion of his intellect hung in the balance for a long time.

"Errr…"

Until she witnessed him with Eiko.

"It's for yyooouuuu!"

Garnet observed the pair from her perch: a misshapen boulder wearing a cloak of moss and a necklace of ivy. Up above the gnarled branches of a tree offered respite from the heat; the sun a burning pearl in the azure sky. Insects and foreign birds broke the peace with their shrill banter, hidden amidst the surrounding foliage.

"What? Why?"

The troupe had taken a break from trekking, moving away from the dusty path that cut through the mountains like a snake through long grass. During that time, their newfound companion, Eiko, had pranced about with an audacity Garnet had never before seen in a little girl (the children in the castle were told to be subdued and respectful – especially in her presence), bounding from one cluster of foliage to another until she'd apparently found what she'd been looking for.

"Just take it already!" the girl barked, brandishing a purple flower in Zidane's face like a dagger.

Zidane, who was munching on an apple and sitting cross-legged beside a bush more thorns than leaves, stared up at the girl in bewilderment. But he took the flower from her with a good-natured nod anyway, and waited for the girl to go away.

But Eiko Carol didn't move. Her eyes were fixed with unmasked adoration on Zidane's visage, as she seemed to wait for her deed to be acknowledged, so he placed the flower on his lap and patted it. This seemed to placate the girl, though not enough to urge her dispersal.

"Isn't it pretty?" she pressed, swaying side to side with hands clasped behind her back. "It's the best colour too. Purple. Purple like my hair. Do you… do you think my hair's pretty, Zidane?"

Zidane stopped munching his apple and Garnet was immediately reminded of a cow she'd seen as a child. It had been contently chomping grass until Garnet had approached, whereupon it abruptly stopped mid-chomp and contemplated her with wariness and mild irritation until she'd departed again. The expression on Zidane's face was so close to that of the cow's she had to bite a finger to prohibit the giggle that was begging to be released.

"Err… I guess…" he replied slowly, spraying a bit of apple.

"Do… you think… _I'm_ pretty…?" She couldn't even look at him now and her cheeks were a brilliant pink.

"Err… Well I… don't know… I suppose…"

Eiko straightened, eyebrows drawn into a frown. "Oh, I see. You like girls more like _Dagger_." She positively spat the name, and Garnet groaned, annoyed the subject had returned to her.

Zidane, on the other hand, immediately brightened and missed Eiko's hurt, angry tone enough to say, "I sure do!" His eyes swivelled toward Garnet, a lewd grin creeping onto his complexion. "Dagger's the most beautiful girl in the whole-"

"Cut it out," Garnet impeded, and Zidane acquiesced with an indifferent shrug (he was so used to having his advances parried, though it infuriatingly never stopped him from trying) and resumed devouring his apple.

"Oohh… you… you _poopie_-_head_!" Eiko yelled at the tailed boy, then to add injury to insult she snatched the flower from his lap and stamped on it repeatedly. "There!" she exclaimed with a flourish. "That's what I think of _you_!"

Zidane blinked up at her, still chewing, and raised an eyebrow so slowly Garnet broke into fits of giggles and the pair forgot their struggle to stare at the princess.

"Err…oh! Vivi y-you're so funny!" was all she could stutter, and the little mage (who had been minding his own business watching the butterflies play in the sunlight) turned his giant eyes toward her and said: "Huh?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Garnet reassured dismissively, waving a hand and recovering from her giggles. "I'll tell you later."

"You weren't laughing at me, were you?" Zidane questioned with a slight sting in his voice, for Zidane didn't approve being laughed at.

Garnet cocked her head and replied with a pleasant smile, "At you? Never."

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously but said no more of the matter, and Garnet realised: _He's not stupid; he's just very slow. _

…

"That was a very stupid thing you did, Zidane," Garnet berated the thief not an hour later.

"Some people might call it _heroic_," he retorted and winced as she probed the swelling on his abdomen.

"Well, I'm not 'some people'. Honestly, Zidane, don't you think we've got enough to worry about? I can take care of myself you kno –"

"Oh really? It was pretty obvious you couldn't have dodged that blow in time –"

"Then so be it! I've earned my fair share of injuries alongside everyone else on this journey so –"

"A fair share is a fair share too many in my opinion, especially when it concerns you. If it were up to me you wouldn't _have_ injuries. I told you to stay back –"

"And after all this time you honestly think I'd just 'stay back' and let others fight for victory? I think not. If you didn't notice, Zidane, we were in a _battle_. People tend to get injured in battles whether you like it or not, and what good did your stupid – oh, pardon me – _heroic_ act of bravery do anyway? It simply postponed the inevitable. You need to accept that whether you throw yourself in front of me or not, I'm going to get injured at some point. Now hush up while I heal you."

Zidane pouted and his tail coiled in on itself like a sleeping snake, though he couldn't help but mumble, "You started it," to reinstate his floundering ego.

Garnet shook her head and returned her attention to the swollen lump on Zidane's lower abdomen. After the battle with the Hilgigar she'd noticed he'd been absently rubbing his belly and wincing. So she'd ordered him to remove his shirt (his eyes had positively lit up but she flattened his hopes with a stern shake of the head) and discovered a ring of mottled bruises encircling an unnatural swelling. Considering Zidane's failed attempts to hide his discomfort, she suspected it to be worse than it appeared and Eiko agreed.

Garnet was astonished by the extent of their newfound companion's knowledge of healing, and it was fair to say that the princess was a little more than astonished when she summoned too, and hadn't been able to piece her thoughts together since. What could it mean? That Eiko was somehow connected to her? She wanted to question the girl about her heritage but her concerns for Zidane's health had thwarted such wants.

However, she did ask Eiko's opinion of Zidane's injury (more out of curiosity than anything) and was pleasantly surprised when the six-year-old diagnosed what she suspected: internal damage to his organs. Garnet said she'd try to repair the harm with her magic, and Eiko went bounding off to locate herbs for a poultice that would help the bruises fade (an infliction magic was unable to heal).

Of course, the injured in question huffed and heaved over the medical attention, announcing he was suddenly feeling 'a lot better' and that he'd 'walk it off', but Garnet wouldn't hear any of it and sat him down so she could begin healing.

And that's exactly what she was doing now; concentrating on knitting his insides back together, feeling the potent white magic filter through her fingertips and into his skin. The swelling was first to diminish, but she knew that infliction was only skin deep and she must continue until she was sure his organs were repaired enough to prevent irreversible damage. Beatrix had told her to always ask the patient if they felt any better because their response could be an excellent means of judgement, but there was no point with Zidane; he'd claim he felt right as rain even if all his ribs were broken in eighteen different places.

And while healing wasn't difficult for her, a certain thief was making it slightly trickier because he was unabashedly staring into her eyes, inflicting feelings of immense self-consciousness and discomfiture. He was also leaning a tad closer than need be, so that every time he breathed the bangs of his hair would tickle her forehead and she'd feel the feathery touch of his breath against her skin. She almost told him to lean back but she guessed he'd take delight in her embarrassment and increase his efforts tenfold, so she bit her lip and focussed on his abdomen so hard her vision began to blur.

Three months beforehand Garnet would've have been reduced to a shocked, stuttering mess at the sight of Zidane's bare torso. It seemed strange to admit now but before her travels she'd never seen a shirtless male. Such indecency in the castle was simply unheard of. Her nephew had once gone charging about his chamber shirtless but he had been only two and, like all two-year-olds, was subject to unexplainable hyperactivity, so she didn't really count that. And the way Zidane had absolutely no sense of shame had completely befuddled her. He'd shrug out his shirt wherever, whenever and in front of whomever before shamelessly gallivanting round campsite or inn wearing nothing but his breeches. Steiner had demanded he clothe himself appropriately before the princess but his commands went ignored (as they usually did when it came to Zidane) and eventually Garnet grew accustomed to his impartial attitude to clothing.

She did recall her first time healing him, however, not long after they'd left the Ice Cavern and were trekking across the plains to reach Dali. He'd approached her just after nightfall, pulled his shirt over his head, turned round then awkwardly gestured at an infected gash disfiguring his upper back. 'I guess I shoulda come to you earlier,' he'd confessed apologetically, 'but I kinda thought it'd heal by itself.'

Nine out of ten times it wasn't actually necessary to touch a patient while casting a curing spell, but with something like an infected wound delicate cleaning was required and the spell-casting hand would have to linger a little closer to the flesh than usual to accurately knit the skin together. At the time, she almost considered turning him away to save her the excruciating embarrassment, but such an act would have been thoroughly selfish because leaving such a wound could have led to blood poisoning and even death. Despite this, she had tentatively offered an antidote and potion first, but he dismissed them both, claiming he'd left it too late so they didn't work. She knew this was true even as she'd offered, so she buttoned up her courage and told him to sit in front of her.

And, as usual, Steiner's timing was impeccable. He bumbled out of his tent, froze upon spotting the half-naked Zidane and the fuchsia princess, then promptly had a fit. After the worst died down Garnet patiently explained the situation and he grumpily let it go, but demanded Zidane sit further away (which was highly uncompromising for Garnet because she had to lean forward to reach the wound) and squatted beside them both, hand on the hilt of his sword, eyeing the thief with contempt while berating him for his recklessness all the way.

Sometimes, Garnet was glad to be free of her bodyguard.

"Um… a-are you okay, Zidane?" a little voice asked, breaking Garnet from her reminiscence.

Vivi's question caused the thief to straighten up a little, granting some relief to the blushing princess. He said: "Oh yeah. I'm fine. Just got a bit bruised, is all."

"Phew… I'm glad," Vivi sighed. "That Hilgigar sure was tough, wasn't he?"

Eiko returned just in time to hear Vivi's comment and said: "Na, you're just a big baby. Besides, no one's tougher than Zidane, right?"

"I never said…" Vivi began poutingly, but he gave up half way and turned to contemplate the ground.

"Here's the poultice for your bruises!" the little girl chimed, sticking a bowl of paste beneath Zidane's nose, which he immediately wrinkled and said, "It smells worse than Cinna's cooking."

Eiko snatched it away. "What!? What do you mean? Well, if that's all the thanks I get then I guess you can just apply yourself, Mister Smarty-Pants!"

"I was gonna anyway…" But of course his gaze drifted to Garnet. "Unless you wanna do it, Dag-"

"Not happening."

He sighed theatrically. " Oh well, can't blame a guy for trying. Done yet?"

The princess removed her hand from Zidane's abdomen and nodded slowly. "I think so. What do you think Eiko?"

The girl contemplated Garnet's work grumpily. "It'll do, I suppose. Now do you want me to rub this on you or not?"

"No!" the thief yelled, snatching the bowl from Eiko's hands. "I'll do it later."

Which Garnet roughly translated to 'I'll throw it in the bushes when I think no one's looking', so she announced her medical treatment complete and the troupe continued on their way.

…

No one much felt like resting after the interval with Zidane's wound, but when Garnet surveyed the vast stretch of parched desert ahead she wished she could lay down, sleep and magically wake up on the other side of it.

"Err… how long did you say it takes to cross the desert?" Zidane asked Eiko while speculating the inevitable-long-walk ahead.

"Not that far. About a day, I suppose."

Zidane sighed, then rolled his shoulders. "Alright then, people. Let's get goin'. Day aint gettin' any younger."

He strode ahead and Vivi tottered in his wake, staring at the azure sky in a daydream. Garnet hung back a way, examining the land beneath her as bristly grass receded into cracked earth and the sounds of the birds was drowned out by the silence of the desert. She peered to the right and spotted a monster some miles away snuffling about for food and paying no attention to the travellers. In fact, the land was so flat the way was revealed for miles around. If she squinted she could even make out a thin blue line on the horizon: the ocean.

"Soooo, Dagger, was it?" a voice suddenly impeded her observations. "Are you really married to Zidane?"

The princess looked to her left and found Eiko walking beside her. How long had she been there? She hadn't even heard her approach! "Oh um… I suppose not."

"You 'suppose not'? What the heck does that mean!? You must know if you're married or not!"

"Well, Zidane and I had to go through a ceremony to pass through Conde Petie –"

"Oh that old thing," Eiko immediately interrupted. "That's not really a wedding, is it?"

"No. No that's what's I thought," Garnet agreed, slightly relieved. She cast Zidane (walking so far ahead as to be out of earshot) a disdainful glance. "But try telling _him_ that."

Eiko narrowed her eyes and Garnet stared back innocently. "What?"

"You… don't like Zidane, do you? Like _that_, I mean."

"I don't know what you mean."

Eiko rolled her eyes. "Oh please. I don't believe _that_ for a second. Is there something between you two or not? And I'll know if you're lying. I know things like that."

Garnet stared off into the distance awkwardly then lowered her voice. "Zidane and I are just good friends. He's helped me a lot over the past few months." She cast Eiko a sly glance. "So there's nothing for you to worry about."

The six-year-old returned her glance with a wild stare. "H-how rude! And I'll have you know I wasn't worried in the first place. I just wanted to clear things up. And now I know you definitely don't like Zidane…"

"I-I didn't say that! I _do_ like Zidane!"

"But you just said you didn't!"

"Yes but… I didn't mean… I meant I like him but not –"

"So you _do_ like him?"

"Yes. Wait – no! I mean…" Garnet pressed her palm against her forehead. "Oh gods, I don't know what I mean!"

"And that's the problem!" Eiko told her. "You don't _know_! Geez, no wonder Zidane's so confused."

"Confused? What do you mean?"

"Look, do you like Zidane or not?"

"Yes! I like him very much! But just as – oof!" Garnet said as she walked right into the person she was talking about.

"Ooooo… Zidane, Dagger was just saying some terrible things –" Eiko began, which Garnet immediately broke with: "I-I wasn't! You know I wouldn't! When I said I liked you I meant in…in a way that meant I didn't like you like _that_ but just… just like you…as a normal like…"

Zidane blinked down at her. "What? What are you talking about? I only came back to ask if you wanted some water."

"Oh," Garnet said. "Oh. Well then. Nevermind. We… weren't talking about anything important. Right, Eiko?"

She sent Eiko a look but it was unnecessary because Eiko eagerly replied, "Yup, nothing at all! C'mon, let's keep going!"

Zidane shrugged it off and continued walking alongside Garnet, who thanked the gods that he was too slow to catch on.

And, lagging behind so no one would witness her devious grin, Eiko Carol thanked the gods they were _both_ too slow to catch on.

* * *

I just want to thank everyone for your reviews. Everyone's been so kind and it's so encouraging to know that people are liking all this drabbily, fluffy crap I keep spewing out :-) So thank you!

Okay, so I might've blagged my way through the medical shit in this chapter, but I don't care. It was fun to write (horray for Eiko!) and in my very humble opinion Zidane should be shirtless all the time. _All the time, goddammit_! :rips Zidane's shirt off: …

Oh, I've been reading the direct Japanese translation of the script (cause things like that interest me) and I found out some weird stuff! Like, all the Tantalus members refer to Zidane as Zidane-san (and Blank as Blank-aniki) so Zidane might actually be the oldest member of Tantalus (aside from Baku of course, who's 45) or of such a high thieving level they are forced to admit inferiority! I found that quite interesting 'cause I always considered Zidane the baby of the troupe.

Err… anywaaaayy… thoughts and feelings? Click the magical button below and leave them with me ;-)


	7. All Down Hill From Here

A/N: Just need to say a big thank you to my dad! My memory stick, which contains all my work and the next six chapters of Brick by Brick, smashed today. I immediately drove to three different stores and all the 'professionals' claimed it to be beyond repair. I went to my dad and after an hour of filing, soldering and swearing, he fixed it. If it weren't for him you wouldn't be getting any more chapters, because I wouldn't have re-written them. So I owe you one, pops ^__^

* * *

(All Down Hill From Here)

"This place…"

Her voice didn't echo, just hung in the air as if captured by a cobweb of time, left to gradually fade like the inscriptions on a forgotten gravestone.

"What is… this place…?"

The melancholy ambience was suffocating too, like a fur coat begging to be shrugged off in sticky heat. The crumbling stones, the broken remnants of furniture… all ghosts of a past life that was so difficult to visualise now it was nothing more than fragmented shadows of its former self.

Garnet entered the ruins of a house, where the roof had caved in and rubble littered the floor like a miniature mountain range. A flight of stairs led to nowhere and in one corner the skeleton of a bed cradled lumps of sandstone.

She picked her way through the debris, morbidly curious despite her heavy heart, and came across a storage trunk. When she opened it she found a faded baby's rattle. Her thoughts slowed and blurred and she closed the lid of the trunk very slowly, numbly wondering if it would ever be opened again and what kind of baby played with that before... before…

"What happened here?"

She departed silently. The floor seemed to drift beneath her feet. She felt as if she were dreaming, oddly detached and acting without control.

The ruins slid past. She saw a temple, its spire still looming over the ruins as if in defiance of the city's end, and a statue of a stern looking man, a horn crowning his forehead, his left arm in shattered pieces on the ground and his eyes staring tiredly into the distance.

Garnet switched off for a while. She didn't remember passing any more desolated housing or ruined landmarks, and when her thoughts became clear again she was staring at lapping waves.

She straightened and surveyed her new environment. She was in a tiny harbour. Up above was the bridge that led to Eiko's home and behind her was a crumbling flight of stairs she didn't remember descending. What caught her interest though, was the little boat bobbing on the waves. Its decking was rotting and its hull was a map of barnacles and crustaceans. The sail shivered in a warm breeze, the material ripped and worn like a flag on a battlefield.

_This scene… why does it look so familiar…?_

Her thoughts were slowly clearing, and she knelt down and tugged on the rope that attached the boat to the dock. The vessel grudgingly shifted closer. Just as it came to three feet of the protrusion the rotted rope snapped in her hand and she watched the end sink into the clear water.

_Oh well,_ she thought, and leapt the remaining distance. The boat pitched, as if begrudging her for disturbing its long respite from bearing passengers, and she struggled to maintain her balance, arms flailing in a very un-princess-like manner. Eventually, the vessel surrendered its efforts and resumed gently rocking from side to side. The princess moved to the bow and perched on a plank of wood that had acted as a seat for a rower in its past life.

She sighed and stared out to sea, wishing for a moment the boat would simply drift away and take her with it. She could spend the rest of her days staring up at the sky and listening to the waves, not worrying about the future, and perhaps the guilt would eventually erode away, like the ruins of Madain Sari.

She lost herself in this melancholy fantasy for a moment with the boat and waves lulling her into a daze. The sun had disappeared beneath the horizon and the sky was a palette of fiery reds and oranges, making the shadows thick and dark.

_Everything about this place is so familiar,_ she thought numbly. _Even this harbour… even this boat… Everything! And the Eidolon Wall… Why does it seem to reawaken something within me? Why does it evoke feelings of longing?_

But she knew why. She'd told Zidane so just a few days before. She missed her Eidolons; the beasts that were once a burden to her heart, crowding her mind and soul and filling her with confusion and distaste. She wanted them back. They were part of her… part of who she was. So what did this place mean to her? Was it part of her too?

Gods, she didn't remember!

The princess sighed and stared at the horizon, observing a thin ribbon of red that turned the sea into a vast bowl of blood. Even nature conspired to make Madain Sari appear dismal! _Perhaps I should leave… Maybe this place is bad for me. It certainly unsettles my soul and rubs my thoughts into blurs. I feel so low, so sad… so… so…_

It was her own voice that shattered her thoughts. She'd been singing without knowing it, but this wasn't entirely unsurprising. The need to sing was almost reflexive, a weather-beaten habit she couldn't shake, lifting her spirits into something bearable. So she continued absently, the melancholy notes settling her soul and allowing her thoughts to unwind like a ball of yarn.

_I'm not even sure where this song's from…_ she thought. _It's always been a part of me, just like the Eidolons. At least no one can take this –_

Her thoughts were abruptly severed as the sound of footsteps resounded upon the stairwell and her voice broke away. _My song must be magnetic_, she thought humourlessly when she spotted who it was. _It's guaranteed to draw him to me._ "Zidane…"

"It's okay," he reassured. His boots clacked against the stone steps and he skipped the last two, hopping onto the dock. "'Cause it's out song, right?"

_When did he start calling it 'our' song?_ she thought, but found the question lacked the bitterness she presumed it would possess, and felt instead a fluttery warmth in the pit of her stomach. _Our song…_

The thief was staring round at the battered stonework and rolling waves with mild appreciation. "I'm surprised you found this place," he admitted. "You got the talent to be a bandit! How 'bout you and me team up?" A sly smile edged onto his features. "We'll call ourselves 'The Betrothed.'"

Again with the marriage references! Zidane was so fickle. She replied with weary humour: "My talent's up to snuff, but that name isn't."

The thief blinked then chuckled and scratched the back of his head. He met her eyes when he said: "You're really something these days."

She cocked her head, not breaking eye contact. "If I am, I must've gotten it from you."

"Naw…It's because you made the effort to learn," he bounced back.

"No, it's because you stuck by me. Without you I couldn't have made it to Lindblum, much less seen a whole continent." She sighed and looked away. "Everything I tried to do on my own was a total failure. I couldn't stop my mother… At times I almost lost hope… You helped me so much…" And she suddenly felt as if she were rolling down hill. The words were coming quick and easy to her tongue and she felt like she could keep going and going, praising and praising until she finally confessed… confessed what?

Zidane was staring at her expectantly so she quickly ceased her descent before things got out of hand. "And not just you, either," she added brashly, then felt her words might have been too harsh and he'd be hurt, but Zidane didn't seem offended at all.

"Yeah…" he agreed. "Vivi and Eiko helped out at the Iifa Tree. Quina was really helpful when we left the continent. Freya, Steiner…and even Beatrix, who I thought was our enemy."

The names brought with them a sting of guilt so she focussed on the waves, wishing they could wash her emotions into something tolerable. "I haven't forgotten," she told him quietly. "I want to believe everyone's alright, but sometimes I just can't…"

The boat lurched suddenly and she grasped the sides as the vessel voiced its disapproval once more. She looked up at Zidane, who had just leaped onto the deck and whose balance was entirely unaffected by the violent rocking. She settled down again, clasping her hands on her lap. He waited for her to speak. It seemed like everyone was waiting for her. Everyone tried so hard, especially Zidane… Letting down her mother was awful. Letting down her kingdom was terrible… but letting down Zidane… She didn't want to think about it.

"I hope I can live up to the hopes of everyone who has helped me," she said, looking pointedly at Zidane. She didn't know whether he missed the point of her comment or not, but his expression did look somewhat pained when he replied: "You don't have to feel so responsible, Dagger."

"But I do!" she cried. Why couldn't he understand? She was princess of Alexandria; it was her duty to be responsible.

Zidane shifted. He seemed agitated. "No one wants you to feel that way. They didn't do it all for you, either. Each was following his own path."

"His… own path…?" She considered this for a moment and thought it did made sense. Of course, she was being selfish again. Vivi journeyed to discover his origins, Steiner journeyed to fight for Alexandria, Freya journeyed to avenge Burmecia and Zidane…

She blinked up at the thief who returned her gaze impassively. Why _had_ Zidane come along? Because Baku ordered him too? To avenge the destruction of his hometown, Lindblum? Because he wanted to help? They all seemed plausible but still… "Well, what about you?"

He frowned. "Huh?"

"Why did you come with me?"

He brightened suddenly. "Hey, that's Ipsen's line!"

"Ipsen? Who's that?"

"Ipsen's a character from a play," he replied. His voice warmed with passion; a recurring tendency when he spoke of a play he liked or had performed in. "But he's a real life adventurer. I think the play is based on his adventures. It kind of goes like this: Ipsen and his good friend Colin worked in a tavern in Treno. One day, Ipsen got a letter. The letter was so wet from the rain that most of the writing was illegible. The only part he could read said 'Come back home.

'Nowadays, we have airships and stuff, but back then it was really hard to travel. He didn't know why he had to go back, but he got some time off, gathered his things, and set out on his journey home. He walked a thousand leagues through the Mist. Sometimes he was attacked by vicious monsters, but he made it, because his friend Colin was by his side.

'And then, after much time on the road he had to ask Colin something.  
'Why did you come with me?'"

Zidane abruptly ceased his story and Garnet leaned forward, enthralled. Despite not having read the play the princess could tell his recollection was hazy at best, but she couldn't deny his captivating story-telling skills, so she eagerly pressed: "And? What was Colin's answer?"

Zidane smiled, a most serious, quiet and wholly un-Zidane-like smile that immediately threw her off balance even before he replied: "'Because I wanted to go with you.'"  
Garnet leaned back so abruptly it was as if she'd been struck. Her heart beat feverishly as she stared into his eyes, trying to discern whether this was one of his pranks or worse, a cheap shot to woo her. But she found nothing but deep serenity and warmth, the faint smile strangely wistful on his features now, and she found herself quite short of breath. That feeling of rolling down hill had returned again and she knew if she opened her mouth nothing would stop the descent. And he knew that too. He was waiting for her to respond, to start the tumble and gods only knew where they'd end up when they hit the bottom…

It was a terrifying feeling but alluring too, like she was standing on the edge of a cliff and wondering how it would feel to jump, to feel the wind in her hair and that moment of glorious weightlessness…

She stared up at him, into his staid eyes, and decided right then to begin it where, she thought, it had begun. She decided to tell him what he'd said during his delirium. "Zidane… I…"

_La – la, la, la. La – la – la – la, la la._

She broke off and peered round. _What…? That song…!_

He leaned forward, disappointed at first then suddenly wary as he noted her alarmed expression. "Dagger?"

"Can't you…" _La, la, la, la- la._ "Can't you hear the song…?"

"Huh!?" He looked round, suddenly noting, as Garnet had, that the boat had drifted out to sea. But that worrying realisation was eclipsed by the eerie notes of soft singing, resonating from everywhere and nowhere at once. "Yeah… It's that song!"

"How? Who's singing it!!??" Garnet stood, feeling panicky and eager at once. The boat lurched crossly and she swayed; Zidane extended an arm and she absently batted it away. Her eyes were fixed on the Eidolon Wall, visible even from the water, and she said in a detached, dreamy voice, "The sun makes the Eidolon Wall look like it's on fire! I've seen this somewhere before…"

_(This place…)_

_(What happened here…?)_

"What? Where?"

_('Sarah…')_

_What…?_

_('Sarah hurry we have to')_

_…Sarah…?_

_('in the boat quick')_

A storm. Fire. An eye. A giant eye. There was no hurricane just the eye that opened from the clouds and she thought it's like the gods, wait no she hadn't she'd thought _it's like the Eidolons are angry with us but mother _(mother?) _pushed me in the boat and the waves were huge I was gonna drown the mast was creaking and cracking like a tree falling and the Eidolon Wall was on fire burning Madain Sari was… was… burn… burn…ing…_

Garnet fell toward Zidane's waiting arms.

…

"…agg…"

…

"…ke up…"

_…hmm…?_

"Dagger!"

_Dagger_?

"Dagger, wake up!"

My name…

"Dagger?"

_…is Sarah…_

"Hey!"

Sa…what?

"That's it!"

No. Dagger… my name…

Something sharp, stinging, cold hit her face and she gasped at the shock of it, eyes fluttering and tiny moan escaping parted lips. She thought she'd been slapped but as her head lolled to the side the sting rolled down her cheeks and along the bridge of her nose and she realised it was water.

The storm… the boat… I was gonna drown and –

"Are you awake? Hey don't pass out on me again!"

Garnet groaned and opened her eyes, found herself staring across waves mottled by the last embers of the dying sunset. "Mmm… wha…?"

She felt a hand press firmly against her cheek and her head was righted. She blinked upward and found herself staring into Zidane's worried visage.

"You okay?" he asked.

She gently pushed him away and sat up. Immediately the crumbling stonework of the harbour swerved and dived and the sea began spinning like whirlpools. She swayed and Zidane gripped her lightly.

"Hey, take it easy. What the hell happened?"

"Oh… ah… I-I don't know…. The song…?"

"Yeah I heard it too. What was that about? You remember?"

Remember?

_Remember…_

She blinked at him stupidly for a moment, her eyes wide and somewhere between elated and frightened. He looked a little startled and tightened his grip in case she passed out again, but she grasped his biceps firmly in return and yelled, "Yeah! I do remember! I remember everything!"

"About what?"

"Just… just… _everything_!"

She got to her feet with his help but assured him he needn't grasp her so tight because she was feeling a lot better. He asked her to tell but she insisted he wait until Eiko was present too.

She looked him up and down and frowned, suddenly noticing: "Why are you wet?"

"Huh?" He regarded his dripping clothes. "Oh. The boat drifted out to sea so I had to jump in and pull the boat along by the remains of the rope."

"I… I'm sorry for being so much trouble…"

He snorted. "Don't be stupid. It was nothing."

"It wasn't 'nothing', Zidane. Everything's just 'nothing' to you."

"Well, if you feel bad about it then you can make it up to me another time, okay?"

She sighed, not liking the thought of being indebted in such a way to Zidane, especially when his tone wasn't entirely decent, but she could do little more than shrug agreeably and climb the steps to inform him of her past.

* * *

Sorry if this chapter was a bit tedious, but I felt this to be an important part in the building of their relationship, even though I said I'd be filling in the 'gaps'.

And once again, I assure you that all these little debts and dresses and sleep-talking will come to close eventually. The dialogue's a little dreary because it's direct from the game, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway :-)

Random fact: In the Japanese version of the game, Vivi calls Dagger and Freya 'onee-chan' – big sister. How cute is that!!???? X3

Please review!


	8. Stalemate Half Broken

(Stalemate Half Broken)

When Garnet was seven, her father had taken her on a boating trip. It was a beautiful ship, a gift from Uncle Cid. Sleek with red panels and billowing sails and stretches of white canvas that patched the witchwood deck in inky shadow.

Garnet had never been on a boat before (not to her inaccurate recollection, anyway) and scampered here and there in a blue dress and giant sun hat. There'd been a fisherman on board too, a man that her father trusted to navigate the shallow, crystal waters of Alexandria's coastline, and he had caught an octopus. It was a large thing, its head the same size as Garnet's, its legs undulating as the man held it out for her to see.

She'd been terrified. It contemplated her with pupils that were devilish slits against golden backgrounds and she was haunted by the image of its three needle teeth for weeks after. When the fishermen placed it on the deck she screamed and shrieked and when it started moving, gods, she shot away and near threw herself overboard to escape. The way its legs rose and fell, sucking against the wooden surface. The way it dragged its giant head along, blindly searching for the sea again. Garnet shuddered whenever she laid eyes on one.

And it just so happened that the Iifa Tree reminded Garnet of exactly that; the tree had been plucked from its natural homeland (a dense forest, perhaps, or some rolling plains), unceremoniously dumped in the middle of a parched desert, and had promptly tried to crawl back to wherever it had come; its twisting roots were octopus tentacles, heaving the bulk of the trunk along with them.

So even if Iifa turned out to be the Tree of Love and Sunshine, Garnet still would've hated it, and having connotations of Kuja, War, Death and Mist attached to it did nothing to quell her negative notions. And the zombie-like creatures that shrieked some nightmare inducing shriek and bled dust and flaked their rotting skin all over the trunks and positively _infested_ the giant tree only deepened her dislike.

But with Eiko by her side zombie states were easily overcome, and for once Zidane took the back seat, aiding them only when the devils got too close for comfort and spell casting was inhibited. So the crossing was unpleasant but not hard going for them, the only one to suffer being poor Vivi, who did struggle at times because of his fear of heights. Yet the roots and branches were so narrow and the drop beneath so vast nobody really blamed him. Except for Eiko, whom had sighed dramatically before proclaiming him 'the biggest baby that ever lived', taken his hand and bravely led him onward.

And somewhere above, lost within a dense tangle of branches and leaves, was Kuja. The bane of Garnet's existence. 'A temporary bane,' Zidane had reassured her, 'because I'm gonna kick his ass from here to Alexandria and back again'.

So they trekked on to meet him. On and on and on. The roots were endless. Criss-crossing and interweaving and snaking above, below, side and side. Both Mist and the enormous canopy blotted the sun, but the heat was sticky and uncomfortable (not dissimilar to the swamp, though thankfully mosquito-free). The Mist swirled, a grey veil brushing ethereal fingers about their ankles.

Zidane abruptly came to a halt and frowned at the giant trunk, currently dominating the view north of them. "We'll pass the trunk if we go any further," he stated. "Kuja went down that trunk."

"Say, Zidane… How are we gonna get up there?" Eiko asked, considering the massive height of the tree.

And of course Mr. Logical replied: "Can't we climb up?"

"Not me!" said Eiko.

"M-me, neither," added Vivi.

Garnet sighed, glancing at Zidane. "I don't think I can, either."

The thief's shoulders slumped and he pursed his lips grumpily. "And we came all this way…Now what?"

"What's the problem?" Their newfound companion asked gruffly, crossing his arms and tilting his head so he could throw Zidane a mocking glare from beneath his red dreadlocks. "You should go by yourself!"

Garnet still didn't understand why Zidane had asked Amarant to come along. She was a little irked with Eiko's affiliation into the group simply because she was another child to take care of (albeit a very independent and capable child) but she understood and sympathised with Eiko's plight, so didn't think Zidane's decision entirely unprecedented.

But Amarant… well, he was another matter. The man had hunted her down under orders of her mother, bore a very blatant grudge against Zidane, which made the atmosphere tense and uneasy at times (Zidane was either oblivious or doing well to ignore it) and he was rude, selfish and uncooperative to boot. She simply didn't understand Zidane's reasons, and had a good mind to ask him the moment Amarant snaked away to do whatever it was he did when he departed from the group.

"- face Kuja together," Zidane was saying.

Amarant snorted. "How did this wimp end up beating me?" And he strode across the narrow branch, nearly pushing Eiko and Vivi over the side with an air of exaggerated indifference.

"Hey Amarant!" Zidane snarled, bristling at the sight of his friends being mistreated. "Watch where you're walking!"

"'He who hesitates is lost,'" Amarant stated blandly, now face to face with the thief. "You'd best remember that."

Garnet bit her lip nervously. A fight between them now would be highly inconvenient, for Kuja could leave at any minute, and the fall would be death-evoking if either were to lose footing. She didn't put it past Amarant to push the blonde boy, either.

"You almost knocked me down!" Eiko cried, as if reinforcing Garnet's thought.

Her plea went ignored though as Zidane waved his hand with a theatrical flourish and said to Amarant, "Well, I prefer 'my way or the highway.'"

"Whatever," the bounty hunter snorted, as unimpressed by Zidane's uninspiring retort as Garnet. "As if you actually have a plan."

"Oh yeah, smarty-pants!?" (_Eiko has such a loud voice for such a little girl!_ Garnet contemplated as the shriek pierced her eardrums.) "Don't forget you're the one who lost to Zidane!"

"Shut up, brat."

"A plan, huh?" Zidane was staring at the roots with his arms crossed. After a moment contemplation his perplexed expression morphed into a mischievous grin. "That's right Amarant. You owe me one, remember? It's pay back time!"

"Shoot."

"There's some gargant grass around here, so a gargant can't be far." _Oh gods_, Garnet thought, _not again_! "I want you to catch one for me. Then we can all get on and ride it to the top."

_No, no, no! No way am I doing that again! Not after last time! If he thinks he's going to trick me just so he can have another_ –

"Why should I do all that," Amarant interrupted her trepidations, "when I could just take the kids up myself?"

"Huh?"

But Amarant didn't explain further. He groaned at Zidane's bewildered expression then strolled casually toward the wide-eyed Eiko and trembling Vivi. The poor kids didn't know what hit them until Amarant had plucked them from the roots, tucked them in the crook of his arm and leapt upward onto the nearest branch. Garnet clapped a hand over her mouth as Eiko's infuriated yells and Vivi's incomprehensible stuttering became lost amid a tangle of flora.

"He sure has spirit!" Zidane incongruously chirped. He turned to the princess, who eyed him suspiciously. "Alright, Dagger… I'll just carry you piggy-back."

Garnet blinked stupidly as Zidane closed the gap between them. "Huh? Hey! Zidane! Wait just a –" He held his arms out (inducing deja vu) and she took a few steps backward, out of harm's reach. Zidane came to a halt, slightly bemused. "Z-Zidane! You can't just –"

"C'mon then, hurry up. They'll reach the top before we do!"

"That's not the point! It's not a race! I don't want to be carried!"

He grinned. "Aw, but you let me carry you before…"

"Ooh, don't you dare! As I recall I didn't have choice because you grabbed me and – "

"And I'll do it again if you don't hurry up. And I'll make the riding position even _more_ embarrassing than last time."

Garnet simmered a little, hands clenched fists by her side. He would do it, she knew. Zidane rarely bluffed, and she couldn't imagine a position worse than the _last_ one.

In the end, she consented and he turned round and squatted a little. She contemplated his back, a little perplexed and feeling ridiculously absurd. _How does one mount a person…? Oh gods, this is so embarrassing!_

"Hurry up!" the thief quipped, actually getting short-tempered with her reluctance_. Better than teasing_, Garnet thought and approached him cautiously, as if he were a wild beast easy to startle.

"Um…"

"Just climb on!"

_Aaah, this is so embarrassing_! _Oh gods if Steiner were here he'd have such a fit_!

She hopped off the ground and onto his back, thighs encircling his waist and arms looping about his neck.

She could've died with embarrassment right then. Really she could have. At least with the gargant the fear of falling was a distraction but now… _This is the most un-ladylike thing I have ever done. Can this situation get _any_ worse?_

A wily hand snaked along the outside of her thigh and came to rest on her left buttock.

Garnet hesitated only a second.

"GET OFF ME RIGHT NOW RIGHT NOW RIGHT NOW!"

Her cry was so loud that even Amarant, Eiko and Vivi must have heard, all the way up the trunk, and she kicked the lecherous thief so hard in the stomach he doubled over and she had to cling for dear life to prevent toppling over his head.

"Oof!" he grunted. "H-hey what was that for? I have to hold on to you!"

"Yes but you do not have to touch my… my… _behind_ in the process!"

Zidane sniffed disdainfully and regained his footing. "Geez, you don't have to get so mad…"

"I most certainly do! Don't you think it's embarrassing enough to have to cling to you like this without you… you… groping like a drunk in a bar?"

"Hehehe…"

"And I find this situation far from humourous, Zidane Tribal, so stop laughing _right this instant_!"

"Yes, ma'am." He tentatively grasped her beneath the kneecaps, waited to gauge her reaction ("That's fine but your hand better not move," she quipped) then examined the trunk broodingly. "S'gonna be tough," he contemplated, almost to himself. Then, a little louder, "You're gonna have to hold on tight 'cause I'm not gonna be able to hold on to you all the time. I need to use both hands to climb. Some of the terrain looks real steep…"

Garnet peered over the top of his head and groaned. How had Amarant managed? Maybe Eiko and Vivi had clung to his arms...?

"In fact…" Zidane went on, "If you don't mind, I think I'd rather do this…"

"Do what?" Garnet asked just as something soft and wiry coiled about her waist and constricted like a python. She gasped and leaned back, surveying the furry appendage that had ensnared her middle. The tip thumped her tummy amiably.

"Safety harness," Zidane joked, and before she had a chance to protest he released his grip on her legs (she almost fractured several of his ribs with her thighs) and took a gigantic leap. The roots fell away beneath them and the air went whooshing in her ears, ruffling her hair and making her squint. It was both terrifying and exhilarating at once, and over very quickly. The trunk loomed before them, the texture of the trunk horrifically enormous, and Zidane outstretched both arms and grabbed at the net of vines ensnaring the bulk ahead. His boots thunked against the trunk and Garnet numbly thought_: I'm falling backward_, because they skidded down a way, Zidane's feet seeking purchase and gloves smoking as the vines ripped through his palms.

But eventually they slid to a halt; a yawning drop beneath and outstretched leaves above.

"…Ack… D-Dagg…ergh!"

"Wha-"

"Y-you're… ch-choke… choking… m-me!"

"Ah!" she yelped as she loosened her grip on his neck. "S-sorry!"

Death grip slackened, Zidane panted for breath and clung to the wiry vines with white-knuckled fervour. "Phew," he sighed after a moment. "You okay?"

"Y-yes."

"Hold on tight then, I'm climbing up. There's a lot of branches overhead so we should be able to jump from each one until we reach the top."

"Okay." She paused. "Thanks, Zidane."

"Aw, it's nothing," he replied as he began to climb, one foot over the other, one hand over the other.

"Nothing, nothing, nothing," she repeated tiredly. "Always nothing with you."

"Now you're just bein' patronising."

"I'm not! I mean it, Zidane, you've… you've done so much for me. For everyone!"

"It's noth-"

"Gah, there you go again! I guess I owe you a lot though…"

"You can make it up to me with a really hot kiss!"

"You lost your chance when you grabbed my behind again."

"Aww…" He paused and looked over his shoulder. She thought he'd turned to claim his kiss, so jerked backward, but he was only surveying the tangle of branches behind. Then, without warning, he propelled himself from the trunk, flew through the air and landed with all the dexterity of cat on an adjacent branch. He straightened and continued the conversation as if nothing had occurred. "So, are you saying I had a chance before I accidentally grabbed your ass?"

"N-no!"

"That's too bad. I'm a good kisser, y'know."

"Yeah, I'm sure you've been around…" Garnet retorted grumpily, glaring at the ungainly mop of hair in front of her.

"Now that's not fair!" he protested with genuine sting. "I never said that! You don't have to get good by gettin' around a lot. I mean, I've had my fair share but…"

Garnet was feeling highly uncomfortable with this subject; she hated the way Zidane overplayed his accomplishments. If he was trying to impress her, he was certainly going about it the wrong way. "You might as well cut that rubbish out," she snapped assertively, "because I know you're not as hard as you make out to be."

"You haven't seen me in the mornings then…"

"What?"

"…Nevermind. What makes you think that, anyway?"

Garnet stared off at the canopy, biting her lip. Zidane made another death-defying leap, and another and another, landing safely and continuing onward without even becoming vaguely short of breath.

"Oh, I just know," she answered expansively.

"Aw, come _ooonnn_. That's not fair! What do you know that I don't?"

"A considerable amount."

"Hey, you owe me one remember? If lugging you up a tree isn't enough to earn a man some credit, I don't know what is!"

_He does have a point_. "Zidane… What do you…" She paused, choosing her words carefully. "What do you want… when you're older?"

"Huh? When I'm older? Err… that's a weird question. I don't really think about it. I do the here and now and tomorrow comes when it comes, you get me?"

"Is that so?"

"Yeaaahh. Why?"

"Oh, I've just heard a little differently, that's all."

"From who?"

"Now that would be telling."

Zidane clucked his tongue, made another leap and almost missed this time. He grasped a tangle of leaves that whispered away through his fingers before he managed to seize the branch beneath. They swung for a second, suspended over the cavernous fall, and Zidane's tail tightened about her waist before he hauled them both up.

The canopy was closer now.

"I suppose," he said, returning to the previous thread of conversation, "I want the same as you."

"As me?"

"Yep."

"What do I want?"

"Now that would be telling."

_Damn, he's quick. Another stalemate, then? _

"But you know…" he continued, while gauging the distance between the branch they were currently occupying and another. "I think I prefer you when you're sleeping."

"Hey, that's not nice!"

He made the leap and made it. "No, no. I don't mean it nastily. 'Cause you're nice awake _and_ asleep. But when you're asleep you're a lot more honest. And cuddly."

"S-stop making fun of me!"

"Heh heh."

"Well, you're a lot more honest when you're unconscious too!" Garnet retorted childishly. "And you don't play up to that awful 'I'm-such-a-stud' routine -"

"Now that was a cheap shot…"

"- and I know all those little secrets you hide, like a sneaky rat storing away other people's trash!"

"The pot can't call the kettle black."

He climbed in silence for a while, neither of them granting any leeway. Once again, they had reached a stalemate and Garnet pouted moodily, watching the branches slide by. She idly noted that his hair smelt like charcoal and rain.

"That day…" she said quietly. "When I woke up in the tent and you were… you know."

"Mmm?"

"What… why did you… how did that…"

"It wasn't my fault."

She huffed. "Oh yeah? Whose fault was it, then?"

"Not mine."

"Stop being so evasive!"

"No, _you_ stop being so evasive. You're the one that likes playing these games with me."

"G-games? I most certainly – "

"Yeah ya do."

"Fine. Think what you like. I don't care if I talked in my sleep. I don't care what I said. But I want to know why we were… were embracing. Like that. It was out of line, Zidane, and you know it! It was beyond audacious; it was downright intrusive! If we'd been anywhere else you could have been arrested for - "

"Dagger." His voice was stern, cutting through her admonishments. "You _asked_ me to do that."

She froze, heart tripling in speed.

_No_.

_No, he's lying._

_I would never –_

"I would never say something like that!"

"You did."

"I… I don't believe you."

"Fine. But if you believe I'd take advantage of you like that, then you don't know me at all. I like girls, and I like you, but I'm not that kind of guy. I wouldn't force anything on anyone, especially you."

Garnet swallowed, hardly noticing as the ground disappeared again and another branch was mounted. Surely he wasn't… telling the truth? She wouldn't ask something like that… right? _Oh gods, I don't even know!_

"Zidane… did I… really ask you to… to hold me like that?"

"Yes."

"Did I… say why?"

"Yes."

_What did I say what did I say –_

"And I'm not tellin' you what it was until you tell me what I said."

Garnet sighed and clung tighter to him, slightly frightened. She felt like everything she knew was falling away. Where would this conversation take them? She didn't want to reveal her secret – his secret. It was something she'd clung to like a priest clutches a cross in a time of need. It became something sacred and precious. She wanted it all to herself forever and ever. Why? Well, she wasn't sure.

But of course, it was more than unfair to keep it from Zidane. It was downright spiteful. Blackmail, was the word that sprung to mind. So she decided to end this stupid game once and for all. "Alright," she said. "I'll tell you."

"I'm listening."

"But you promise you'll tell me what I said after?"

"Yes!"

She took a deep breath. "It… was while we were at the swamp. You don't really remember, do you? But you got really sick from the mosquitoes. Quina said it was Qu Fever."

"Yeah, he told me."

"You were unconscious for hours and delirious, mumbling incoherently a lot of the time. I had to stay up with you to make sure you got your medicine and well… to make sure you were okay in general, I guess."

"…"

"So, a few hours after you passed out, I was mopping your forehead with a wet cloth and you suddenly started to come round a bit. And you err… you asked for Blank a few times –"

"What?"

"You asked for Blank."

"Oh. Geez." She felt him grimace. "How embarrassing. Don't _ever_ tell him, okay?"

"I wont. Anyway, you asked for him and then you… you asked for someone else…"

"Someone else?"

"Yeah."

"Who?"

"Her name… is Gabriella."

Zidane fell silent. Garnet subtly pressed her right hand against his chest and felt the hammer of his heart. During that time he leapt another three branches consecutively, concentration and balance unperturbed by her words.

Eventually, "Gabriella, huh? That's a nice name, but I don't know anyone called that."

"No," Garnet agreed evenly, concluding he didn't remember his admission. "She's not around, yet."

But realised her mistake as soon as he said, "Yet?"

"Err… yeah. Or ever."

"Oh." Disappointment? Her imagination. "What else did I say about her?"

"That she's… she's very pretty."

"Mmm."

"And… you call her Gaby."

"Mmm."

She paused, a little awkward now because she couldn't tell if he was feigning ignorance or if it was genuine. He was strangely sombre and the end of his tail was twitching against her abdomen in what could have been agitation. "You said some other stuff, too."

"About…?"

"Us."

"Damn it, Dagger, you're being pretty vague!"

"Well, it's embarrassing!"

He didn't say anything for a long while after that, and Garnet knew their time was running out because they were amid clusters of leaves and the branches were thick and easy to climb. After a moment, he stopped and crouched and told her to get down; she could walk from here. She obliged and stretched her cramping legs, feeling the lingering sensation of his tail about her waist.

When she looked up he was standing directly in front of her, face devoid of any expression.

"What?" she said.

He didn't break eye contact. "I guess I said… 'it', huh?"

"What's 'it'?"

"I can tell by the way you're acting. Honestly, I don't really care what I said, but I'd rather of said it to your face than when I was passed out."

"What are you talking ab –"

"And just so you know, I meant everything I said. And I know you did too, even though you were sleeping."

"What _did_ I say?"

He took a step closer and reached out a hand. She realised he was actually trembling. She'd never seen him tremble. "Dagger, you… "

"Oi, monkey, you sure took your sweet time!"

Garnet had never cursed in her life, but she came ever so close in that second. And even though the vulgarities refused to come, the words, 'No, no, no, go away! Go away!' we're painfully closer. Thorns in her throat.

"What are you two talkin' about?" Eiko yelled from the branch above. "There's no time to waste! We can see Kuja!"

"Shit," Zidane hissed through gritted teeth and he was away in a flash, ending the conversation with the intention to finish it once Kuja was disposed of.

But if he'd known what terrible incidents would tear them apart in the hours to come, he would have stopped and finished his sentence right there and then. It might have saved them both a lot of heartbreak.

* * *

Was anyone else pissed off beyond all reason when they unsubtly cut out the bit where Zidane gives Garnet a piggyback up the Iifa Tree? Seriously, what's with that? I was like, what the hell!? Why would you cut out what could be a freakin' brilliant Zidag scene!? WHY!? THINK OF THE FANS!! THINK OF THE FAAAANNNNSSSS!!! :pants: Oh well. I hope I filled in that little gap, anyway. Please review!


	9. Tear Us Apart

(Tear Us Apart)

Zidane had been described as 'loud' on numerous occasions. Countless occasions, in fact, and all infused with negative connotations. He'd been much worse when he was young; the 'loudest damn kid' Baku had ever heard. The boss had a few tricks to quell the boy (Zidane eventually came to regard the Hideout's only lockable closet as a second home), but his techniques were temporary at best, for Zidane was as brilliant at escaping as he was talking. Temper torn to shreds, the boss eventually kicked him to the streets and told him (in no fewer words) to bestow his noise upon the unsuspecting folk of Lindblum. He would come back tired but never silent, and Tantalus would have to endure his endless banter for a few more hours before sleep finally claimed him and the Hideout wallowed in the fleeting silence.

But unlike most kids, Zidane never really lost his intolerance for quiet. He grew into a teenager that wasn't so much hyperactive as he was brash and theatrical, but there was rarely an awkward silence with Zidane, who remained talkative and full of stories, always eager to edge silence into obscurity.

But that day was an exception. That day, there were no words.

The sky was an elaborate map of colour, the sun barely a slither on the horizon. Reds intertwined with startling pinks and oranges, all of which washed into inky lavenders high above. Nestled within this subdued colour was a single star, glittering like a diamond swathed in velvet, and it was this Zidane contemplated as he stared off into the sunset, leaning against the rail with hands clasped over the sea. There was no breeze but the air was fresh and salty and the escape pod bobbed through the waves in lethargic motions.

The tranquillity seemed entirely unsuitable considering the events that had transpired a few hours past. The deaths of hundreds of Alexandrians, Bahamut's rampage, Kuja's boundless sadism and… the death of Dagger's mother.

Zidane sighed heavily and started into the waves, but the darkening sky rendered them impenetrable. They were abstract triangles of colour, mostly blue-black but there were slices of amber too, emulating the sunset.

He didn't want to think too deeply about the whole ordeal, really he didn't. Thinking deeply just wasn't him. In his opinion, shit happens and as cruel as it seemed to admit, Brahne's death was inevitable. He'd seen it coming like a boulder rolling down a hill, and he wondered if Dagger had too.

Zidane turned away from the sea but kept his gaze skyward, elbows propped on the rail behind him.

Of course she'd seen it coming. If she hadn't then she wouldn't have tried so hard to save her. And gods, she had tried _so_ hard! It's what she'd been striving for since the day they'd met: to save her mother and her kingdom. But she'd failed. As awful as _that_ was to admit as well, Dagger had failed to save her mother. Though Zidane reckoned that was inevitable too; in the end there was nothing anyone could've done.

Zidane bit back another melancholy sigh (all this brooding wasn't him at all) and his gaze slid back to the deck of Brahne's escape pod. He drawn immediately to Dagger, who sat opposite with her legs dangling over the side, forehead resting against the railing. All he could discern was the dark bell of her hair, but perhaps that was for the better; her expression shredded his insides.

He tore his eyes away and looked to the stern. Here a misshapen mound dominated the woodwork, lashed to the rails so it wouldn't slip overboard if they encountered rough weather. It was quite cruel to refer to it as the 'misshapen mound' (for that's what Zidane's mind had absurdly labelled it), for there couldn't have been a more disrespectful way to refer to the late Queen of Alexandria. Except perhaps 'elephant lady' but Zidane would never be so crass – or stoop to Kuja's level.

Dagger had refused to leave her mother on the beach, but the option of leaving her had never been raised. The princess had disappeared to the cabins while Zidane and Amarant hefted the queen onto the deck, covered her with canvas and placed her at the stern, where the wind would carry the worst of the rot with it. It was a good week from Iifa to Alexandria by boat and they had no means of preserving the corpse. A horrible part of him wished they could just dump her in the sea and be done with it, but one glance at Dagger's broken visage would crush that want like a snail beneath his boot.

The thief felt very little toward the old queen, both dead and alive. He'd felt mild hatred toward her because of the pain she'd inflicted upon her daughter (this escalated after Brahne sentenced Dagger to death, but Zidane had never been too bothered because like hell he was going to let Dagger die like that) and the kind of detached anger one feels toward an instigator of war. So when she finally died he felt no real loss toward her personally, but found himself scorched by Dagger's grief instead.

He hadn't understood it at first. The closest to a parent Zidane had ever come to having was Baku, and if Baku ever died of course Zidane would be devastated. But Baku had never started a war, sentenced his boy to death or killed hundreds of innocent civilians. How could she still love Brahne after all the atrocities she'd caused? Wasn't she even a little relieved? He just couldn't quite understand it and he knew he'd never get an answer because he hadn't the heart to ask.

And that was partly why the words refused to come. Comforting her was beyond him. He struggled to relate to her situation. All those worn clichés seemed bitter on his tongue: 'She's in a better place now' or 'She lived a good life' or 'She'll always be in your heart.' Sometimes he'd approach her and those and other such things would be half way out when he'd spot her expression - that awful, devastating expression - and he could do nothing but turn on his heel and walk away.

Zidane Tribal reduced to awkward silence. Baku would have a thing or two to say about _that_ little anomaly, for sure.

He felt terrible about it, though, because she must've needed comfort. Everyone needs comforting some time (except him, he told himself). And the way she just drifted about on deck, slept an unhealthy amount and – even worse – crouched beside the Misshapen Mound and rested a hand on it, as if her very touch would rekindle its existence. It was unbearable, and Zidane had never wished someone's grief away so fervently. He wanted to end this stupid ordeal with Kuja once and for all. He wanted to rip that bastard's head from his fucking neck and stick it on a pike for the world to see.

Zidane whirled, feeling his frustration rising, and began prowling the deck like a drunk looking for a fight. He didn't do well cooped up in confined spaces (those hours locked in the closet probably played a part in that) and the silent, brooding atmosphere only heightened his discomfort. It was stifling to say the least, and Zidane was having problems keeping his usual banter in check.

He advanced toward Amarant (who was preoccupied with steering the ship) in such an aggressive manner that the redhead spun and crouched into a defensive position. Realising the misunderstanding, Zidane skidded to a stop, palms held outward and tail bristling slightly.

"Woah, woah, easy! Cool ya engines."

Amarant straightened and snorted. He eyed the younger boy with the same amount of amiability one would grant a poisonous snake. "Says the guy who charges at the man with his back turned."

Zidane rolled his shoulders, trying to smooth the bubbling irritation tickling his belly. "Sorry. Do you need me to take over steering?"

"No."

"How much longer until we reach Alexandria?"

"Not long."

"How long?"

"Not Long."

"Godsdammit, Amarant, just give me a time!"

"What's your hurry?"

Zidane clenched his jaw, pupils dilating, and took a menacing step forward. His anger frothed and spat in a manner that was nothing short of volcanic. Amarant was ready, arms tense by his side and tiny smirk quirking his lips, but Zidane caught himself just in time and turned abruptly, knowing the game before he'd even played.

"Forget it," he snapped. "You're an asshole."

"Sticks and stones, monkey. I'm ready whenever you are."

Zidane snorted and stormed to the bow, tail whipping the air. He hunkered onto the planks and buried his head in the crook of his arm. He listened to the adrenalin pounding in his ears and took several long breaths, tail tapping an agitated beat against the hull.

After a time, his thoughts withered from an angry buzz to an unpleasant thrum. The sound of the waves was a soothing lullaby against the bow and the night was pushing any remnants of colour beneath the horizon.

Zidane gnawed his lip grumpily. Even though he'd been away from Tantalus for many weeks now, he'd yet to discard his thieving body clock. Before this little adventure he'd been practically nocturnal and used to spend most of the daylight hours sleeping (his companions discovered this the hard way – Zidane wasn't always easy to rouse.) So it was as the thief was pondering what to do with himself during the long night hours to come, that the princess approached him. He was so lost in thought he didn't notice until she spoke.

"Three days."

He turned and stared up at her, pleasantly surprised but strangely guarded. Her face cupped the last of the dying light but her eyes were lost in shadow, black and stony. He forced a grin for her sake and patted the deck beside him, needlessly shifting up a space. She took it wordlessly.

"Three days?" he questioned.

"Until we reach Alexandria."

"Oh. How –"

"Amarant told me."

"Geez, he'll tell _you_."

"I said please."

He couldn't tell if she was genuinely scolding him or if it was a light joke on her behalf, but he tittered anyway and stretched, as if physical movement could force the awkwardness away. He desperately sought the words to ease the situation, but oddly she beat him to it.

"What do you think… will happen when we get to Alexandria?"

He relaxed a little, slouching forward to ponder her expression. She didn't meet his gaze, just stared at the waves, rippling like black silk in the boat's wake. He carefully gauged the question, stopping himself from rolling head first into an answer that could hurt her.

"Alexandria?" he began. "Well… I guess… err…" What would happen? What did she want to hear? "I guess there'll be a funeral, right?"

Dagger didn't respond.

"And then… I dunno… A ceremony?"

"A coronation," she corrected.

"A what? A – oh." A coronation. Of course. Dagger would ascend the throne. "Yeah. That."

Zidane stared into the black sea, his heart suddenly a lead weight in his chest. What was this feeling? Trepidation? Anxiety? Reluctance?

…

But why?

_She's gonna be a queen…_

"I don't want…" she began but cut herself off and gripped the railing so hard her knuckles turned white. "I don't want…"

"…Don't want what…?"

She sighed, shoulders slumping in a manner that was nothing short of defeat. Or desolation. Maybe both. "It doesn't matter."

"Yeah does," Zidane probed. "Tell me."

She turned her face away from him. "No. It doesn't matter… anymore…"

"Dagger…"

When they got to Alexandria she was going to become queen and he would remain nothing but a thief. There was more to consider but Zidane pushed the grim thoughts further than the first star specking the sky and the pair sat in brooding silence.

Suddenly, three days didn't seem nearly long enough.

…

"Land ho."

The voice echoed across the deck, rousing Zidane from sleep. His tail ticked and he shifted slightly, licked his lips and tasted salt.

"I said 'land ho', monkey boy." The tone was gruff, sarcastic, unmistakably Amarant's.

"I heard you the first time, asshole," Zidane snapped in a croaky morning-voice. He rolled over, eyes still glued shut. The gentle rocking of the boat was lulling him back to sleep and he welcomed it with open arms; he'd had trouble sleeping over the last few days.

Unfortunately for him: "ZZiiidddaa_annneee_!"

The thief quickly summoned his acting skills and prayed that she might think him asleep and leave, leave just for another few minutes so he could grab more-

A little hand grasped the end of his tail and gave it a tentative tug. He yelped (acting skills diving overboard) and bolted upright, tail reflexively trying to skitter away. But the grasp held tight; persistent as it was tentative. When he tried again his efforts were met with another little hand and then Eiko Carol said: "Ooh, soft."

Zidane could've died right then. He fretfully surveyed the area and discovered (_gods thank you gods I owe you guys big time_) that Dagger wasn't around to witness _that_ familiar indecency, so he turned his attention to the matter at hand (and tail) and pivoted briskly.

"Get off!" he shouted. "That's private property! You can't just grab people's body parts" – (hypocrisy not lost on him for a second) – "and I'll have you know that –"

"Do you shampoo it? Is that why it's so soft?"

A deep-throated chuckle from the bow implied that Amarant hadn't missed the remark, and much to Zidane's frustration he felt his cheeks begin to burn. He grabbed his tail and yanked it from Eiko's grasp.

"That's none of your business!" he barked.

"So…" Eiko rocked from side to side, tongue poking mischievously between her teeth. "Is that a yes?"

"N-no! For gods' sake, no! I do _not_ shampoo my tail! What do I look like, a freakin' pussy?"

"Yes," came the immediate reply from the bow, which really frazzled Zidane's nerves and he jumped to his feet, gaze piercing the rambunctious girl who was barely taller that his thigh.

"Touch my tail again," he reprimanded decisively, "and you'll find yourself acquainted with whatever's lurking at the bottom of the ocean." And he almost added 'How would you like it if I touched your horn?' but decided he _really_ didn't want to go there.

Eiko hummed a contemplative note, still swaying side to side and eyeing Zidane with the wistful, captivated look that instilled nothing but the greatest discomfort in the tailed boy. "Oh, but you wont be able to do that soon, 'cause we're almost at Alexandria." She shrugged with exaggerated nonchalance. "And then you and Dagger will have to go your separate ways. Such a shame."

Embarrassment immediately forgotten, Zidane turned his gaze to the sea, where the Mist Continent was just a smudge on the horizon. They'd reach Alexandria in less than an hour he reckoned, and then what?

(_You and Dagger will have to go your separate ways)_

_Yep. That's a wrap, folks,_ he thought sardonically. _Last stop on this aircab ride. The happily-ever-after. The grand finale. The end._

Zidane descended to the cabin, locked the door, and waited for the hour to pass.

…

_Don't you dare._

She wasn't looking at him, which kind of hurt because he really wanted her to be.

_Don't you dare walk out of this situation without saying anything._

She stared up at the castle, at the broken blade and crumbled towers. At the battered brickwork and charred flags. She was suffering, that much was clear, though her eyes had lit up when they'd passed civilians by. Civilians that were working hard on rebuilding her devastated kingdom.

_You have to say something._

They greeted her warmly, with surprise and with love. She smiled sadly, stopped to talk occasionally, commended their efforts, and when they were half way through Alexandria Beatrix and Steiner arrived. News of Garnet's return had travelled fast. Tears had pricked her eyes when she saw them safe and well and all three of them had fallen over each other apologising.

_Anything. Say anything._

They said they'd escort her back to the castle and he'd thought, _This is it_. And then she'd started walking away and he'd thought, _Gods she isn't even looking at me_, s_he's forgotten already!_ and then she'd turned round and said, "Don't lag behind, Zidane."

A part of him kind of wanted to get it over and done with. But a larger part of him wanted to wallow in her presence a moment longer, even if it was just that: a moment. She didn't speak to him again; Beatrix and Steiner delivered orders to their knights about the collection of the late queen's body (abroad the escape pod still with Amarant playing a reluctant bodyguard). The tragic news had reached them days before and her memorial was nearly finished. They informed Dagger of this gently, yet with a ring of methodical duty. Dagger nodded where appropriate and said nothing. Not to them, not him, and he felt the peculiar sensation of sand slipping between his fingers.

(But if he'd been paying closer attention he would have noticed the way she stiffened if he lagged too far behind, or how she walked closest to him than either of her consorts.)

And now, as he watched her staring at the castle, her ruined home and the future, he wondered if he'd meant anything at all to her, if he'd left even the tiniest indentation on her heart. He wondered if everything he'd taught was already fading. He wondered if he was looking at Dagger or at Garnet. He wondered if it mattered either way.

_Oh, come on, Zidane, did you really think a princess would fall for someone like you? You knew this day would come so take it like a man and get this over and done with._

"D-Dagger…?"

To his surprise she turned to him immediately. Her expression was sombre and pained. _Because she was looking at the castle,_ he told himself. _Nothing else._

"I err… just wanted to say…"

"There's something I must tell you too…"

"Oh, you go then."

Beatrix approached and the situation became abruptly awkward. "We must leave, Princess. There's much that needs to be done."

"Yes," Dagger said briskly. "Yes, I know. Just a moment, if you please, Beatrix."

She bowed and departed, but lingered close enough to distil more awkwardness.

Dagger said: "We must be quick; I must go."

"I know," he said. "Go on."

"No, please, I want to hear what you say –"

"Princess!" Steiner barked in a pleading tone and Dagger cast her consorts a despairing look before returning her gaze to Zidane. "Quick!"

"Well…" He scratched the back of his head. "I'm not very good at this kinda thing but um… I guess I just want to say –"

"Princess!"

The couple turned as a third interrupted, but this time Garnet yelped with glee then offered a deep bow. "Doctor Tot," she greeted warmly. "You came all the way to Alexandria…?"

The red headed professor smiled sadly. "I wouldn't miss your coronation for the world, and I must offer my most sincere condolences concerning Queen Brahne's departure from this world. I offered to partake in the creation of her memorial the moment I heard the devastating news."

"Thank you."

The doctor turned to the silent blonde. "Ah, Master Zidane. What a pleasure to see you alive and well. How do you fair?"

"Alright, thanks."

The doctor nodded then offered his arm to the princess. "Shall we?'

So she took it without hesitation and walked away. Zidane stared after her with unabated longing and as she disappeared through the gates she turned briefly to offer a smile, and he returned it wanly, a piece of him crumbling like the turrets of Alexandria castle. A piece he'd never dreamed of possessing before he'd met her.

Alone in the square, Zidane stared up at Alexandria Castle and whispered, "Goodbye, Dagger."

* * *

(Bleh. That last line was too sickly, even for me!)

Okay, game, you've done it again. So one minute they're at the Iifa Tree, the next Zidane's moping in a pub and Dagger's preparing for her coronation. Um… what the hell happened in between? Was anyone else like… wtf? Or is that just me and my Zidag tuned brain? Lol.

Anyway… Zidane's perspective, woot! It was a nice break and I really enjoyed writing it so I hope you enjoyed reading it! I thought Zidane was a bit too um… self-critical in this chap. And a bit too brooding. But I guess he was pretty devastated. I dunno. Oh god, and the first half of this chap was sloppy as hell, so sorry for that. Review…anyway…?


	10. Unexpected Guest

**Quick note**: As a handful of reviewers pointed out, I made a huge mistake in the last chapter. You're right: Alexandria wasn't in ruins! I have no idea why I thought that. I just envisioned it in ruins, rolled with it, and didn't check my timelines. So I'm very sorry for any confusion caused! I outright admit that I fked up, and it's now been rewritten to fit the original plotline. Thanks to those who pointed it out.

* * *

(Unexpected Guest)

Garnet ran fingers over her orange overalls. Gods, they were a state. They hadn't been new when she'd donned them five months (an eternity) ago, but now they gave the word 'shabby' an entirely new meaning. There were repaired tears here, there and everywhere (Garnet would feel forever indebted to her embroidery tutor), with eyelets missing on the back and front and bearing stains nothing short of phenomenal.

Yet she just couldn't bring herself to part with it. Her cousin had owned a comfort blanket when he was a child and if anyone dared take it away, even for cleaning, he would throw the most tremendous tantrum. She supposed this was no different.

Beatrix had politely suggested she dispose of the article a few hours ago, and Garnet had started to, but the sheer emptiness experienced was too horrific, as if she was peeling a part of herself away.

_No_, Garnet rendered_, not part of myself. Part of my new life. It was like peeling away what I'd become and donning a faulty persona._

So she'd protested mournfully until Beatrix allowed her to keep it. Looking upon the princess' distraught face, the general decided that if Garnet needed a comfort blanket, now was the best time.

"But you must be strong, Princess," Beatrix had commanded, "for yourself and for your kingdom. Appearances reflect the monarchy as a whole, and Alexandria needs you as their pillar of strength during this tortuous time."

"I know," she'd replied listlessly, and hadn't left her room for a long while.

If her coronation had come but seven months earlier she would have felt nothing but excitement and anticipation. She would have felt anxious too, because no one should ascend the throne so young, but it would have been easier then than now because that was before she'd met…

_No! Don't think about him! You promised yourself you wouldn't!_

But she couldn't help herself. Truth be told, she'd thought of very little aside from the departure of her mother and Zidane, and as awful as it was to admit, she'd thought of the latter much more.

_'Alexandria needs you as their pillar of strength.' But who will be mine? What if I fail my kingdom? Make some terrible decision and plunge the city into despair? What if I can't protect my people from Kuja? _

These trepidations snatched sleep from grasp, mainly because she knew that if Zidane were with her the consequences of her actions – even the actions themselves – wouldn't be so strenuous.

She hadn't asked about his whereabouts, though. She was going to be a queen soon; she should concern herself more with the kingdom's prospects than the whereabouts of _him_. However, she courteously demanded that if ever he were to enter the castle, he'd be treated with due respect - though she wondered if Steiner would sidestep that particular order.

But… she couldn't deny her feelings. The lonely hours had been long and she missed him. When asked an opinion or forced to make an important decision she often found herself thinking one of two things: _what would mother have done?_ or _what would Zidane do?_

By the second day she was positively longing for him. Just a glimpse would do, a few exchanged words. Their departure had been so hurried; she fervently wished she'd taken the time to hear him out instead of letting herself get whisked away. He'd looked so sad… Was he even thinking of her now? Had he moved on already? Re-joined Tantalus and returned to Lindblum?

She sighed. _Bad news is better than no news._

On the day of her coronation, three days subsequent to their separation, Garnet knew she needed a push before ascending the throne, and there was only one person who could do it. She didn't like admitting weakness, but decided to allow one last fault before becoming queen and forgetting her personal traumas.

But… there was another reason, too. As painful and as futile as it would be (undoubtedly causing more pain than relief for the both of them) Garnet wanted to tell Zidane everything: that if it weren't for him she wouldn't be where she was today, that he'd changed her in ways she'd never thought possible, that she'd appreciated every kind, encouraging word and that she forgave him all his silly pranks and advances. And maybe… maybe she'd tell him that if things were different… if she wasn't a queen and he wasn't a thief… maybe they could…

Oh, but those thoughts were silly. Beatrix _and_ Steiner both agreed – and they never agreed on anything!

On the day of her coronation, Garnet found herself sleepless once again. She lay in bed with her thoughts in turmoil, watching the early light wash her room in brighter hues. It was time to put behind her foolish whims and desires. It was time to become a queen. Time to grow up!

Yet, with this resolution, Garnet felt how a fruit must feel once the flesh has been scooped out and nothing but the skin remains. She fancied herself made of stone and did well to manifest this feeling of solidity. She was a stone idol, something stoic that people would follow and look to in times of need. She had no need for such fleeting wants and relied on no one for reassurance. In fact, she was getting quite proud of her new persona and humourlessly joked, _Maybe I should rename myself again_, which was a terrible thing to do, for his face popped before her eyes in an instant, and her stone persona crumbled like a brittle seashell.

She sighed and sat upright to stare out the window, contemplating the pearl sheen of dawn. A walk. Yes, that's what she needed. A walk to clear her mind. She would offer her turmoil to the morning sky and by the time the sun rose above the horizon, all would be well.

So she dressed in a heavy gown of grey satin, with long sleeves and a high neckline to apprehend the chill. She threw on her scuffed leather boots as an afterthought; no one would see them beneath the layers of her skirts, anyway.

Garnet edged the door open a crack and peeped out. She'd hoped to sneak away, like during the Tantalus play

_(do not think of him do not think of him) _

but this time of day was, perhaps, the busiest for servant and guard; they scuttled here and there preparing for the day ahead, towels, weapons, scrolls and foodstuff in tow. There was no being discreet about it, now.

To reinforce this conjecture, the moment she stepped from her quarters a maid was in attendance, bowing deeply and offering to tend the princess' needs. Garnet dismissed her, and almost wished for her racket when another six hounded her wake as she traversed the corridors. She just hoped she wouldn't run into Beatrix or Steiner; at least institution prevented the lower servants from questioning Garnet's motives.

After a stretch of aimless wandering, the tormented princess found herself seated on the worn steps by the canal, watching subtle colours taint the waves lilac. Bemused servants flitted until Garnet dismissed them from her presence completely, wanting no one but misery for company.

How black her thoughts were! This should be a happy day; a day to remember, celebrate and establish a golden new era. Why couldn't she wallow in the festivities, like the town folk? Observe with excitement and delight the celebratory banners and flowers decorating the town? She would rather feel nothing than feel depressed.

The gentle lapping of water distilled her thoughts, and she looked up. A boat was heading her way, sporting a passenger and the perfunctory Alexandrian solider.

_How strange… who would come to the castle at this time? A servant running errands from town, perhaps? _

The boat glided alongside the dock and the passenger mounted the steps with an ungainly leap. He didn't bother thanking the boater, and paid no mind of the princess as he began to climb the steps.

Suddenly, Garnet realised who he was.

"Baku…?"

The giant man swivelled on the spot and frowned in the princess' direction. He quickly recognised who it was, but offered none of the usual courtesies. Just a gruff: "What the hell are ya doin' up at this time?"

Garnet smiled. _I can see where Zidane gets his – _

_No no no don't think about him!_

"Good morning," she greeted. "I haven't seen you since Treno. How are you?"

The thief scratched his beard and grunted. "Alright, I suppose. What ya doin'?"

"Thinking. About my coronation. I'm a bit nervous."

Baku snorted. "What've ya got t' be nervous about? Yer got yer life laid out on a plate fer ya. 'Sides, ya gonna be a great queen. Maybe the greatest. Ya got a lotta people routin' fer ya, Princess. Me included."

Strangely, his brusque words and mannerisms warmed the girl. She quickly realised why and tried to brush it away.

Being with Baku was a bit like being with –

"What are you doing here?" she quizzed, quickly averting her thoughts. "Steiner will throw a fit if he finds you wandering the grounds." As an afterthought: "Sit with me?"

The boss raised an eyebrow but took up the offer, back cracking as he lowered himself onto the steps nearby. He replied: "Heh, if only that knight was more like you. He's so stuck in his ways he don't know shit from gold. Ah…" He glanced at Garnet. "'Scuse my language."

Garnet waved a hand daintily. "I'm used to it, what with Zidane…" She let that admission trail off, hoping Baku wouldn't pick up on the subject.

He didn't. "Anyways, I'm just trailin' around. Alexandria aint as excitin' as Lindblum, what with it bein' so small. No offence. Man's gotta go lookin' for stuff to do instead of stuff findin' him."

Garnet cast him a shrewd look. "You weren't planning to… steal anything, were you?"

Baku's infamous laughter broke the peaceful dawn asunder. "Gwahahaha! Dunno. Will I get arrested if I say yes?"

"This is _my_ home, so technically you'd be stealing _my_ things."

"Well, I weren't stealin' nothing. S'not what I'm here for."

"Why are you here, then?"

Baku gestured expansively to the castle, and then to Alexandria, while saying, "Fer the coronation, but mainly fer him."

"Who?"

"Zidane, of course."

They fell into silence. Garnet stared down at her hands; absently smoothing imaginary creases from her skirt, and Baku, who probably felt more intrigued than awkward, tugged at his beard, the other hand clasping a knee.

Eventually, the princess said: "Is he really so upset?"

Baku pondered this for a moment. "Well, I aint seen him like this before. None of my boys have. Sure, he's a sulky kid, but he's pretty damn depressed at the moment."

Garnet couldn't apprehend the relief that seized her. She had been so worried he would forget her and move on. Knowing he was wallowing in despair wasn't a particularly satisfying thought, either, but it did quell a fraction of her despair.

But then, wouldn't it be better if he forgot about her altogether? If Baku had told her he'd done just that, it would have been easier for her to move on too. Knowing that his feelings were, perhaps, as steadfast as her own didn't help at all.

_Does it ever get easier?_

"Naw," Baku said, making her realise she'd voiced her last sentiment. "But it gets better if ya willin' to work hard."

Garnet felt a blush creep into her complexion. Gods, she hadn't meant to speak aloud! And the way he'd answered… so convinced. How could he be so sure of her feelings, when she wasn't sure herself?

"Don't worry about him," Baku advised. "As I said, he's a sulky kid. He was a pain in the ass when he was younger, geez. He'd disappear up into the rafters or under the covers and no one could get 'im out, not even Blank. And when he finally did, he'd walk round with his tail between his legs and his thumb in his mouth, like a bloody three-year-old."

Garnet grinned at the image. And seeing that her spirits were lifted Baku added, "And he only cut that habit a few years ago."

The princess giggled into her hand, and decided to allow herself one last dose. "Tell me about him. Zidane, I mean. When he was younger. What was he like?"

"A devil," the boss responded immediately, shifting on the cold stone. "Hyperactive. Always gettin' into trouble and draggin' us down with him, whether we liked it or not. Always playin' pranks, too." Baku's eyes glazed as he considered the past. "Blank and Zidane, for instance. They get along fine now, but Zid used t' get mighty jealous of him when he was younger. Used to play tricks on 'im. Make himself feel better, I suppose."

"Like what?" Garnet asked, intrigued.

Baku hummed a meditative note and fiddled with his goggles. "Err, well. I don't think I should tell ya most of 'em, 'cause they're not fer a lady's ears – "

"I'm not a child!" Garnet chided, only half joking.

Baku narrowed his eyes, long ears pricking forward, evaluating her, it seemed. "Well, there was this time when he spiked Blank's drink with a potion that… that…" He groaned, searching for decent wording. "Well, let's just say it put Blank in a pretty embarrassing situation concerning… _guy_ things. He couldn't get rid of it for hours. Zidane nearly broke a rib laughing… and a nose when Blank finally got hold of 'im."

Garnet, who had gone a startling shade of fuchsia, covered her mouth with a hand and stared wide eyed at the Tantalus leader. She barely grasped the consequences of Baku's story, but knew enough to comprehend what Zidane had inflicted. "That's… that's awful! What else did he do?"

"Gods, I dunno. Lemme think. Aah… Oh! He sprayed Cinna's pillow with the scent given off by female oglops to attract male oglops. Don't know how the hell he got hold of _that_ shit."

"What happened?"

"We were findin' oglops all round the damn place. Beds, clothes, sinks, toilets - bloody everywhere! Hideout was so infested we had to pay three hundred Gil to hire professional exterminators. Had to sleep in the bloody aircab station for weeks. Zidane claimed he didn't know the stuff was so potent, but I'll bet my last Gil he bloody well did. And don't ask what he replaced Ruby's hair cream with, one day. The beating Ruby dished out was twice as bad as anything I could've done."

Garnet shook her head in disbelief. "I never knew he was so bad!" She paused. "So um… you… _found_ Zidane, right? On the street or…?"

"Naw. It takes a lot to tame one of 'em street kiddies, though Zidane weren't half an effort, anyway. I got him from an orphanage."

Garnet was surprised. "An orphanage?"

"That's right. I was settin' up Tantalus at the time and lookin' fer lackeys. I had a few older kids – gone now, gods bless 'em – but I was after some little'uns to train up from scratch. So I made the rounds in Lindblum, tellin' the orphanages to get hold o' me if what I asked for turned up." The boss looked at Garnet, a wry twinkle in his eye. "So, a few weeks later this chick comes knockin' on the Hideout door, tells me to get my ass down to Capori Orphanage as fast I can. 'Why', I asks, but all she says is, 'You'll see.

"So I grab Blank and Marcus and make my way over, half expecting to find the perfect addition to my gang." He laughed loudly, slapped his thigh. "And what did I get? The most vicious, primitive, dirty urchin I ever laid eyes on."

"Vicious?" Garnet repeated.

"Bloody hell, that kid was wild!" the boss exclaimed raucously. "The people at the orphanage had been watchin' him for a while. Gods, what was he…? Five? Six? He'd devoured more rubbish than a dumpster, they said, and they were desperate to get him to safety. So they lured him to the orphanage with food, but hadn't realised what kind o' prey they was luring 'til it was too late.

"As soon as he'd finished eating he went crazy. Lunging and swiping at everyone like a Zaghnol with a pole up its arse. They tried everything to tame him, but got their purses stolen in the process, and that's when they called me."

"And you took him."

"Sure, at the expense of several bruises, three broken fingers and bite marks so deep I still got the scars!" He guffawed loudly but Garnet was appalled.

"Zidane was really like that? …Why?"

He shrugged, suddenly sombre. "Some parents don't treat their kids like they should; they're left to teach themselves how to survive and can end up like that. But I pounded some obedience into him, and like hell if he aint grown up with a heart of gold." Baku smiled then. His eyes were warm, crinkling around the edges like paper.

"Do you miss him?" Garnet asked suddenly.

The man shrugged his broad shoulders. "Kid's like a son to me. They all are. But I gotta let him go sometime, don't I? He's always runnin' off, anyway. I've never been able to pin 'im down." His eyes fixed on Garnet. "You, on the other hand, seem to be doin' a pretty good job of it."

She blushed and the man stood with a groan, knees popping in protest. He leaned forward and hailed a passing canal boat.

"Well, I best be off. Got things to do, people to see." He turned to her, expression solemn as a statue. "And yer know ya can't forget 'im that easy. And I think it'll be mighty ungrateful to shrug him off, after everything he's done fer ya. I know yer a queen, but he's a good kid. Don't waste the opportunity. I can see he's changed you." He gestured at the leather boots poking beneath the hem of her dress and Garnet retracted them bashfully.

A canal boat slid up beside the steps and Baku boarded. Garnet watched it float away, but the boss didn't look back. Not once.

The sun peeped over the horizon and the waves were triangles of gold.

The day of her coronation had finally broken, and it was time to fulfil the promise she'd made to herself and put her woe and past antics far behind, making way for a new era, a new day.

Garnet turned to the castle and thought of Zidane.

* * *

I know the events in the game actually spanned three months, but that's just crazy-talk. I make it longer. :wink:

Hmm… not sure when the next chap is gonna be written… I'm a bit stuck on it. So just some advance warning.

Review?

Merry Christmas! XD


	11. Silence Is Golden

(Silence Is Golden)

No one could deny it: Garnet was becoming increasingly withdrawn.

It was a process neither fast nor slow, like a flower closing its petals as the sun fades away, or snowfall covering grassy turf. No longer did she wallow in the company of others; she repeatedly shunned it. She dismissed Steiner tiredly, refused Eiko's offers to explore Lindblum, declined Cid's requests to dine. Some were hurt, some suspicious, while others respected her desire to be alone, such as the empathetic Freya.

Yet all worried for her. It was becoming increasingly difficult not only to capture her attention, but maintain it too. All too often her eyes would wander mid-conversation, glaze and fix on a point that was neither here nor there, something startlingly absent from their depths. Something no one could pinpoint, though Vivi offered a thoughtful insight when he remarked, 'It was like she had candles in her eyes, and now they're all blown out.'

She spent her time on the rooftop of Lindblum Castle, looking across the patchwork landscape and lending her weight to the rough brickwork and golden telescope. She stared toward Alexandria, expression flitting between distressed, pained and outright devastated; a melancholy sigh was never far from her lips. What worried others most though, was when her expression was blank. A canvas waiting to be painted on, and not much else. Combined with her deadpan eyes, it made her seem almost insentient.

And her expression was thus as Steiner ascended the steps to visit her. He called her once, twice, thought of leaving, then tried once more.

She didn't turn and despite the quiet, her voice was barely audible. "Yes?" Soft as moth wings, soft as snow.

"The Regent has requested your presence during dinner," Steiner told her with a salute that went unseen. "Shall I relay your accord?"

"I have made no agreements."

"Then what does Your Majesty wish to do?"

She leaned heavily against the battlements. Steiner wished she wouldn't veer so near to the fall, though he couldn't think why.

"Don't ask me things," she said. "I am not fit to decide anything…"

Her words were blades in Steiner's heart. "Y-Your Majesty… You must eat."

She said nothing, and for once Steiner didn't pester. He saluted and said: "As you wish, Princess. I shall inform the Regent you will not be attending dinner." He turned to leave, then stopped and added as an afterthought: "I shall have the servants send you a plate, so you can pick as you please."

She said nothing. He wasn't sure if she'd heard or not, but departed anyway with his heart as heavy as the armour he donned.

Alone again, Garnet slumped against the wall. She tried hard to see the scenery, tried hard to hear the thrum of aircabs and distant cries of wild chocobo. But she could see nothing but flames. Hear nothing but screams. See nothing but ruins and hear nothing but inhuman roars. Food repulsed her; it smelt of the charred feathers of dear Alexander. The castle repulsed her; she saw the crumbled ruins of her own in its splendour.

She was the defeated queen of a defeated kingdom, and her heart and soul had crumbled alongside its foundations. She had no doubt the civilians hated her, had no doubt her friends scorned her negligent decisions. They blamed Bahamut, they blamed Kuja, they blamed the gods, but it was clear whom they were really blaming. The fingers pointed at her and no one else. She couldn't stand their sympathy, their pity. Every word and gesture burned like hot iron. Lies, lies, lies.

There were no words to express her bitterness, so she deteriorated a little with every passing hour.

Her memories of what transpired in Alexandria were becoming like puzzle pieces. Some showed specific imagery of a greater picture, while others were just indistinct colours that could belong anywhere. She saw a chapel swathed in brilliant flame. She saw a singed feather drifting to the cobblestones. She saw ocean waves licked with the amber hues of her burning city.

She could not see Alexander's desolated wings. She could not see the terrible eye in the clouds. She could not see the vast devastation of her castle. These things were hidden behind opaque screens.

But there was one image firmly imprinted in her mind, crisp as the edge of a frosted leaf. It hadn't altered in any way; neither blurred nor exaggerated. It was so fresh and clean it was almost tangible.

Zidane.

She remembered little of the summoning. Of brilliant light, of unsettling incantations, Eiko's hands soft against her own. Then something happened. Noises and sparks and bolts of blue glancing off sword and brick and necklace. Then she was on her knees yet somehow falling. She saw her castle from an incredible angle, saw fragments of brickwork drift upward and knew she was going to die. She was going to hit the ground hundreds of feet below and all of Kuja's twisted desires would be realised.

But then _he_ appeared before her, like a dream.

_No, not even that,_ she rendered. _Like something from a fairytale_.

It was so ridiculous and so unbelievable, because he wouldn't, shouldn't and couldn't have come back. He should have been long gone; back with Tantalus, back in Lindblum, back to thieving with her vanished from his mind like dirt from a washed sheet. But when he dropped to the stones with a crooked smile and flashing eyes, he outshone any knight or angel or god. He was more fantastic than any dream she could have conjured.

Looking back, she realised she could have died then and not cared. Could have hit the ground and perished in smoke and fire and ash and not cared because _he_ was there and in that warped moment _he_ was all that mattered.

But of course, Zidane wouldn't let her die. The ground fell away and she fell into his arms and together they fell through the burning sky.

And now she was here, fine and dandy, and he was…

Not so fine.

What had happened? She barely remembered. Her memory was precious writing on burning paper. She'd clung to him like a child, buried her face in his hair and swore never to let go of him because this – _this_ – is what happened when Zidane went away. Destruction. Chaos. Death.

But there was an explosion. He was torn from her grasp and flung thirty feet to jutting rubble. She would have gone too, but her left foot had become tangled in the rope he'd used to fly. She was gracelessly deposited some distance away, and Eiko had untangled her. Sound was eclipsed by ringing in her ears. Her ankle hurt and there was blood on her hands, but all she could think about was Zidane Zidane _Zidane_.

They were at the foot of the castle. What was left of the castle. But she didn't remember much of its state. Only of Zidane. A crumpled mess atop a crumbled mess. There was blood and he was as still and silent as a distant star.

Then there was despair like she'd never known, anger blacker than a moonless night and denial that hurt every tendon in her body because he can't be dead, he can't be, _can't be_.

And then she'd passed out.

…

Garnet looked down at the boy prostrate on the bed.

She knew she had little to worry about concerning his condition. The bandages swathing head and arms concealed shallows cuts; his chest was covered in sunset-bruises. But he had been spared severe wounds and broken bones; his escapes were always miraculous.

She perched on the side of his bed and smoothed the crumpled sheets. Zidane looked almost comical nestled within the plush lining. His tousled appearance seemed anomalous against the grandeur of the guest room. She knew he preferred the tattered linen of country inns. In fact, she'd been shocked to discover he rarely had a bed to sleep on at all. The Tantalus Hideout had very few beds, he'd informed her, and so he often slept on a pile of hessian sacks in the rafters. He hadn't seemed at all bothered by this, and couldn't understand why she'd been so appalled.

How different they were. Upbringing, status, education, even appearance. They clashed in countless ways, yet still they returned to each other. Fate? She couldn't believe that. They had been torn apart by circumstance and rank, and it was Zidane's heroic nature that reunited them. It was because of Baku's orders that they had met at all! Was that destiny? Garnet had always thought that if love were directed by fate, it would stem from a chance meeting or unlikely coincidence. Her friendship with Zidane seemed too orderly; in such a way that she doubted anything would come of it.

She didn't remember much of the boat trip to Lindblum: distant explosions, Baku shouting, holding trembling hands over Zidane's chest and casting cure after cure after cure. She wished she could claim it was because she cared for him, but the reaction to heal was mechanical. Something ordinary, _anything_ ordinary. Anything to take her mind from what had just transpired.

But there was no such distraction in Lindblum and because her thoughts were preoccupied by countless mistakes and the shoulda-woulda-coulda, she'd remembered Zidane's condition as only a guilty afterthought.

Seeing him didn't make it much better. Her remorse ate any rationality. A quiet corner of her mind reassured Zidane's rescue to be habitual. That he wouldn't want her to feel guilty. That she _shouldn't_ feel guilty.

But that part was so small. He hadn't woken for three days and it was _her_ fault. Always _her_ fault. If she'd been more careful, if she hadn't run off, if she'd waited for Steiner and Beatrix to return, if she hadn't summoned Alexander, if she'd remained in the castle, if she'd called her troops, if she'd just watched where she was bloody well _stepping_. He was hurt because of her and her stupid decisions.

Garnet leaned forward and brushed a lock of hair from Zidane's brow. He frowned at the contact and mumbled something incoherent. That was a good sign. It meant he would wake soon. But then what? How could she apologise for her actions? To him and her kingdom and her friends? There was no way. There were no words. She'd lost her mother, her kingdom, the faith of her friends and populace.

And she nearly lost Zidane.

Her actions were unforgivable.

Garnet felt emotionally tired. There was a hollowness inside her, something carved out and replaced by black nothing. It seeped from every pore and settled over her in heavy clouds of black smog. Suffocating. Terrible. It weighed her down.

Garnet got up and left the room, her thoughts already far from the stirring boy. She tried to find the words to express her remorse, her regret, her shame. She sought deep within her heart and soul. She thought and thought until those thoughts blurred into nothing and she saw the castle walls no longer. She became as insubstantial as a wrath, suddenly unable to grasp her thoughts, sense and voice.

And Garnet drowned in golden silence.

* * *

Yup, short chapter. I said before that chapter lengths would vary. But the next update will be very soon to make up for it, okay? Like, two or three days.

I did a bit of research concerning muteness as a result of shock, and discovered it can be a gradual process. I remember wondering, during the game, why no one had noticed Garnet's muteness before Zidane woke up, but she could have become mute days after the disaster. I also wondered what went on while they were fleeing to Lindblum. So that's another gap kinda filled, I hope! Thankies for reading, I luv you guys! Hope y'all had a good new year and xmas! ;)


	12. Broken Fishing Rods

Just to quickly say, there's more swearing than usual in this chapter, so if you're offended by such things… um… close your eyes? Heh…

* * *

(The Blue Narciss, Part One:  
Broken Fishing Rods)

Garnet was an only child. Never had she possessed a brother or sister, nor grasped the complexities of such a bond. She often wondered about it, but never felt bitter or resentful, and only suffered the occasional nip of wistfulness. Perhaps she should have felt more, but the siblings she'd seen around the castle were aloof to each other, the title of brother- and sisterhood merely that: a title. And besides, siblings within royal ranks can quickly develop into deadly rivalries (so she'd learned from other monarchies) and furthermore, after some contemplation, Garnet realised if she'd possessed, say, an older brother, she wouldn't be where she was momentarily, for an older sibling would've taken care of the matter involving her mother.

So the princess had never particularly mourned her only-child status, or wanted after a brother or sister, and had thought herself long past thinking of such irrevocable facts…

…until the ocean crossing aboard the Blue Narciss, where Garnet passed the long hot days observing a certain pair of thieves.

"Oi, you pussy-kissing man-whore, aren't you meant to be stearin' this thing?"

The pair weren't actually brothers. Not in a biological sense, anyway. But if she'd learnt anything during her weeks aboard the ship, it was that the title of brotherhood could transcend even blood and birth. Never had she met a pair so attuned to each other's emotions; so rarely did they need to share a word to know what the other wanted, felt and needed.

"Who are you callin' a pussy-kissing man whore, you goddamn cocksucker! Cut me some fuckin' slack would you? Not like you've been doin' any goddamn work around here. Not that _that's_ a surprise, you lazy cunt."

They were, nonetheless, a far cry from the siblings she'd observed at the castle. She found their brusque way of speaking to one another curious, endearing and, on the odd occasion, slightly intimidating. They swore and fought as if truly belligerent, though their curses lacked malevolence and nothing would ultimately come of their scraps save a few grazed chins and bruises.

"Oh that's rich. That's just fucking _rich_. You know what you can do with that? You can shove that wrongful accusation right up your asshole you motherfuck-"

And while Garnet found their relationship intriguing and puzzling, others just found it outright irritating.

"THAT IS QUITE ENOUGH!"

Like Steiner, for example.

His protest cut their playful banter asunder, and he advanced toward the blonde thief with decided menace. He shook a mailed fist inches from his snub nose while ranting: "How _dare_ you use such filthy vulgarities before Her Majesty! How _dare_ you! I've half a mind to throw you overboard you – you – _dirty_ _urchin_!"

"Mind your language," the thief quipped with a cheeky grin, deftly sidestepping any imminent danger. "I'm only slipping into the role of a foul-mouthed sea dog. Y'know, like the ones down at Lindblum docks. They use language that'd turn _my_ ears red."

"Not the point," Steiner dismissed tersely. "I've had this conversation with you before and you did well to heed my warnings. Why you've returned to your foul-mouthed habits, I haven't a clue."

Zidane Tribal rolled his eyes. "Get bent, Rusty."

And a red haired thief laughingly added: "Too fucking right!"

Steiner's jaw ticked and he inhaled a shuddering breath. However, the words to enunciate his fury were surprisingly absent, so he settled on another shake of the fist before stomping away to sulk.

Deeming it safe to relax, Garnet removed her hands from Vivi's ears. It was a somewhat futile attempt to staunch Zidane's endless flow of verbal filth, in hopes that any bad influence would be diverted from the impressionable mage. She often wondered if it was too late for such gestures though, for she couldn't be near the child every time Zidane broke into obscenity (which was often), but it was nice to think she filtered some, anyway.

As for Eiko, she reckoned the little girl would likely sever Garnet's hands if she tried to filter _anything_ Zidane said, even though the thief had been so terribly obscene the past few weeks.

And what had provoked his behaviour? Easy question. As far as she could tell, it took but one Tantalus member to revert him to his old ways. Thanks to Blank, his crooked, abusive, uncouth, lecherous nature had returned with vigour not two hours subsequent to boarding the Blue Narciss, and he hadn't looked back since.

As if to elaborate her thoughts, Zidane shimmied up a mast, cupped a hand around his mouth and bellowed: "What are you doing over there anyway – " Garnet clapped her hands over Vivi's ears again "–half-dick? Jerking off or somethin'? Oh, pardon the mistake. You've been there far too long to be wan-"

"Zidane!" a second protest arose from a certain Dragon Knight. "I think I speak for all when I say I've had just about enough of your vulgarities for one day. There are children present. If you must use such language then at least restrain from bellowing it across the ship."

Zidane's grin widened until teeth showed, extra white against freshly tanned skin, but he slipped down anyway and promptly shut up.

Garnet never understood why the capricious thief was inclined to obey his Burmecian companion over others; she was just thankful he listened to anyone at all.

"U-um…"

Garnet returned her attention to the little mage, then quickly snatched her hands from his ears, embarrassed she'd forgotten. She smiled at him, and he skipped off toward the starboard rail to watch flying fish skim the water and disappear in a cloud of foam.

The journey by boat had been tough. It would take a week and a half to reach the Outer Continent from Lindblum, and Zidane and Steiner were struggling to rekindle their testy truce in such close quarters and after a lengthy absence.

Where the princess was concerned, the bodyguard had been irritatingly vigilant. He was all too aware of the prolonged length of time Garnet had spent unprotected in Zidane's care, and had no doubt that Zidane's advances had increased, though the knight didn't possess the courage to pry into specifics. However, when the details of Zidane and Garnet's 'marriage' arose, he turned white as a sheet and excused himself for several hours.

Zidane had observed his reaction mischievously, then promptly created a game that was a sure fire way to wind Steiner up a treat. And it needed but one word to be successfully executed.

The blonde stopped before Garnet and said with purposeful volume: "Ah, my beloved _wife_, how fair you today?"

Garnet sighed wearily as Zidane preformed a sweeping bow, his lecherous smirk erasing any illusion of nobility. She waved a hand, tired of his attempts to provoke her bodyguard into a temper tantrum. She was in no mood for it, so quickly got up and moved away, leaving a pouty Zidane in her a wake.

_Gods_, she thought, _another week of this, at least. Three days passed and they already seem a small eternity._

And Garnet had suffered most profusely during that period, though she would never be so immodest to admit it. Her heart had splintered in places she never thought could splinter, her sorrow a lead weight on slight shoulders. She felt like a failure, like nothing she could say or do would ever be right, or make up for the countless lives lost in her beloved kingdom. Her eyes still reflected the embers of Bahamut's flames; the ruins of her castle still hindered every step. She felt she was stranded in a vast ocean, being swept along by currents out of her control.

Garnet stared over the rail at the waves and inky depths. Perhaps her allegory wasn't so metaphorical after all.

The queen pressed fingers to her throat.

Her voice. Gone. She hardly noticed, most of the time, for even if she'd been with speech she wouldn't want to talk anyway. Her emotions were too heavy to part with. They were the fruits of her mistakes, so she must bear their burden alone. She didn't curse her muteness, didn't care if she ever spoke again. She deserved not to speak. She only wished for further punishment; the loss of her voice didn't equal the destruction of her kingdom.

So she spent half of her time lost within a dark haze that see-sawed between depression and self-hatred. Her bleak emotions would cloud the sea and sky and boat, and she would flounder within their depths, suffering in silence, too far gone to find a way out.

However, there were brief respites to her pain. It never vanished completely, though; just shrank back and contemplated her, the way a cat considers a bird before pouncing. She knew, during those fleeting moments, it was only a matter of time before the clouds returned to engulf her.

But what drove the clouds away in the first place? That wasn't a difficult question. Her friends were guiding lights upon stormy seas; they rescued her from jagged rocks. Plus, her silence wasn't all bad. It lent opportunity to absorb her companions; she listened eagerly to every woe, trivial exchange and bright hails because they were her lifeline out of the clouds.

And, strangely, the companion that intrigued her most was Blank.

Blank, who technically should have been similar to Zidane in every respect, yet somehow was not. This bemused her. Had the same man not raised him? Had they not dwelt in the same places? Had they not shared similar experiences and grown together, side by side? This was all true, yet Blank was very unlike Zidane in many respects. He was mature, solemn, composed and eternally patient. He could successfully complete even the most difficult of tasks with nonchalant ease. While Zidane bounced restlessly, Black remained poised and unruffled. While Zidane's tone was shrill and vivacious, Blank's was smooth and indifferent. If Zidane was a bubbling brook, Blank was the calm lake it ran to.

Yet after some observation, Garnet realised they were more comparable than first perceived. Like Zidane, Blank took everything in his stride. Like being ordered to navigate the Blue Narciss, for instance. It had meant leaving his home, piloting a ship, crossing seas he'd never crossed and meeting a group of people he'd never met, yet he seemed to shrug it off with the same indifference one would apply to mild weather.

With the boys in mind, she turned to observe them. They were nearly always together, giving the impression they'd missed each other's company (though she guessed they'd never admit it) and Garnet enjoyed watching for the rivalry Baku had revealed bounce sparks between the two.

As she expected, they were together, seated at the bow where the deck narrowed into a rail-less gangway wide enough to hold the rudder beneath and not much else. Garnet wouldn't desire traversing such a space, even if Steiner had been inclined to let her. However, Zidane and Blank balanced this protrusion effortlessly, side by side and shirtless (their clothes washed and drying over rails), fishing poles in hand.

Garnet was too far away to discern much, but after a moments squinting she realised the brothers were arguing about something. Zidane's eyes were bright with furious passion and he gesticulated crudely. The redhead responded by leaning back, shoulder rolling into a nonchalant shrug. She could picture the raised eyebrow, the hazel eyes glinting like cold flint beneath Zidane's fiery onslaught.

And she suddenly understood why a rivalry tainted their friendship. Their ages, skills, status and strengths must not have differed so greatly, and the Tantalus members seemed to admire both Zidane and Blank. Naturally a rivalry blossomed, and their personalities contradicted just enough to fuel it. Not overly dissimilar to Beatrix and Steiner, she mused.

Their argument seemed to escalate and Garnet's curiosity overcame her. Glad to be free of her cloud, if only for a moment, she crossed the deck silently, her boots long since removed. Steiner watched her with unmasked suspicion and anxiety, but she let him stew.

As she closed the gap, snippets of their argument reached her and she almost allowed a smile.

"…acting like a bloody kid." Blank's voice: a level concoction laced with irritation. "When are you gonna act like a man and hand over the gil you owe me?"

Ah, that was it. The boys had indulged a card game last evening, and despite Zidane's best efforts (and Freya's _and_ Cid's) Blank had won all three rounds. The humbler of the three paid Blank what he was owed, while Zidane dismissed his due with watery excuses that fell short of the downright-absurd mark by a mere inch. Blank looked like he'd heard it all before though, because he severed his excuses with an arrogant hand and: 'Shut it. I'll get it from you later."

Now Blank was trying to claim his fare, and gaining nothing but a stubborn blonde with losing issues.

"You owe _me_ money, anyway," Zidane whined. "I won three card games last year and I aint seen a gil of what you owe me!"

"That's bullshit," Blank countered. "No one in Tantalus can beat me, even boss."

Garnet's gaze flicked to Zidane, wondering how he would counteract such a self-assertive claim. Asserting superiority over Baku was a supercilious declaration to say the least, and she doubted Zidane would let die so easily.

"Oh, please. Boss can't play cards fer shit, so you can't use _that_ as a basis to boost your colossal ego, asshole!"

"_My_ colossal ego? Phhtt, you're a goddamn hypocrite, that's what you are. Go suck cock, stupid monkey."

"Wh-what was that!?"

"You heard me."

Blank was still cool as a cucumber. Zidane was ruffled beyond all hope. He hopped to his feet, hunched on all fours. Blank sniffed disdainfully, unfazed by Zidane's attempts to provoke him, and ran a hand through his hair. Garnet considered the pair with mild apprehension and intrigue.

The blonde pushed his brother and the latter shrugged him off irritably. "Ge'off. Quit botherin' me, I'm tryin' to fish! Hey, if you're so worked up about it, let's have a rematch."

Zidane leapt to his feet, eyes heated and wicked. "I'll get the cards!"

"Na. I don't feel like playin' cards. I meant, let's see who catches the biggest fish, eh?"

"You lazy bastard! You just can't be bothered to get off your fat arse!"

"Rather fat than scrawny like yours, dickend."

"That's it!" Zidane yelled, and leaned forward to grab Blank's fishing rod. He meant to yank it from his grasp, Garnet was sure, but his momentum and angle were all wrong, and the wooden stick snapped. One half remained in Blank's hand, the other in Zidane's.

There was silence between the two for a moment, and Zidane's eyes became wide and wild, contemplating the broken stick unblinkingly.

"Oh… s-sorry, Blank! I… I didn't mean to b-break it…"

The red head sighed. "Oh, shut up, you faggot."

Zidane pouted at the remnant in his hand, then at Blank, then at the sea. Deeming it a lost cause, he tossed it into the rippling tide.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Blank yelled, jumping to his feet. "You idiot! I could've mended that!" He shoved the boy angrily, no actual harm intended. However, Zidane was caught off guard and he hopped backward on one foot, arms pinwheeling madly as he fought to keep balance.

He was going to fall!

Without thinking, Garnet panicked and leapt forward, arm outstretched to catch him…

…except Zidane caught _her_ instead.

The queen barely heard Steiner's explosive bellow before the falling boy yanked her off her feet. There was a weightless moment followed by a stinging, cold slap and salt and foam and colourless wetness and nothing but shock and panic.

Instinct kicked in. The queen thrashed feverishly, not knowing up from down with her eyes squeezed shut against the stinging surf. She broke the surface all but choking to death, breath tearing through lungs as the shock sent her senses reeling. She fought against the clinging waves that sucked and pulled and beckoned her deeper into the inky pit below.

"D-Dagger!"

The cry accumulated her thoughts somewhat, and she looked about stupidly, spotted Zidane nearby, head bobbing above the waves. His expression was mildly surprised, but mostly downright daft.

"We fell in," he observed, cracking a grin. "You okay?"

Garnet struggled to keep her head above the water, though not so much to prevent drowning but to throw Zidane the biggest scowl she could muster. His grin wavered into something more sympathetic and he swam to her.

"Here, hold on to me. The tide is pretty strong."

She hesitated, but the waves were already tugging her away so she encircled her arms about his neck, his skin slimy and wet beneath her palms. She felt his legs pumping the water and joined in, helping to keep them both afloat.

The Blue Narciss was turning. It had continued to travel some sixty feet, yet Garnet could already discern Steiner's bawling and Eiko's excited shrieking. Gods, they were loud!

"If this is all it takes to get personal, I should've pushed you in the water ages ago."

Zidane's comment recaptured her attention and she turned to throw him a dark look.

But her breath caught in her throat.

The reflections from the sea had turned his eyes into bowls of startling cerulean. They rippled with ribbons of aqua, like lightening flickering across dark skies. Navy pinpricks flecked his irises and the colours undulated and trembled with the waves. Stunning, mesmerising, draining her thoughts.

Garnet fell deep into the seas captured behind his eyes.

Zidane's joviality dropped a notch of two and he cocked a questioning eyebrow. "Err… what?"

Garnet blinked, still unable to tear away. However, the spell was broken when Zidane's gaze found something much more interesting to contemplate, and she realised too late that her accursed blouse had soaked see-through again.

She pushed away in disgust, just as the Blue Narciss' lifeline slapped against the ocean's surface. She swam for it, as did Zidane, a lewd smirk unmoving on his features. She resolutely avoided becoming ensnared by his eyes.

She was pulled up first. Amarant plucked her over the rail and dropped her to the deck (not without brusqueness; his aid obviously not voluntary) and Garnet hunkered to the wooden planks, shivering and covering her bared bust with one hand while the other pushed sopping hair from her eyes.

"You poor thing," Freya clucked, removing her overcoat and draping it over her shoulders. "Soaked to the skin."

Zidane hopped onto the deck, looking a wet dishevelled mess. "Hey, where's my sympathy?"

Freya delivered a swift blow to the ribs and he doubled over, wincing. "Oaf!" she chastised. "You could've drowned her!"

"She can swim, y'know. And anyway she –"

But he didn't get much further because Steiner charged the thief, stopping inches before the blonde but yelling like they were miles apart and he partially deaf. "YOU INCOMPETENT BUFFOON! YOU THOUGHTLESS WORM! YOU IMMORAL DEVIL! YOU -"

"Oh, hush up, stupid-head!" came the barely-quieter Eiko's reprimand. "Dagger's fine and that's all that matters! You haven't even asked if she's okay! Just standing there bellowing your big fat head off like a… a… big fat _poopie_-_head_!"

Blank, who was lingering on the outskirts of the crisis, sniggered, and Eiko turned her wrath on him. "And you! _You_ stop laughing! If you hadn't pushed Zidane none of this would've happened!"

"Yeeaaahh _Blank_," Zidane drawled with a sneer.

"M-me? Zidane was the one who –"

"La la la la la la la," the blonde chimed, drowning out his companions' protests.

"You immature little shit!" the red head bit back.

"Bastard!"

"Dick-less!"

"Two Gil whore!"

"Cunt eater!"

"Gigolo!"

So the list went on and Freya shook her head despondently, ushering Vivi away while muttering, "Hopeless. Utterly hopeless…"

* * *

Weirdly, this is the first chapter I wrote for Brick By Brick. It was this chapter, and the next, that inspired the whole thing. In fact, this fic was meant to contain just these two chapters, but look how _that_ turned out. :looks at chapter amount and shakes head:

Gah, I love Blank and Zidane sooo much. 3 There's ever so slight referencing to 'Apologies Taste Like Hazelnuts', too. People who've read it should've noticed. :grin: Although this line always gets me: 'Zidane yelled, and leaned forward to grab Blank's fishing rod' Lol, I'm so immature. It didn't sound wrong until I re-read it, I swear!

This is the prologue to the next chapter, where the fun really begins. :giggles to self: Well, the next chapter doesn't have much Blank, but it does have lots of Zidane… and Dagger and…err… I had fun writing it. Nuff said.


	13. Unfortunate Misunderstandings

(The Blue Narciss, Part Two:  
Unfortunate Misunderstandings)

Ever since the ordeal with Bahamut, Garnet had been cursed with a wandering mind. It was undoubtedly her depression, the black cloud descending once again. She would detach herself from reality and roam the corridors of her unconscious, searching for answers. Her endeavour was fruitless; she found nothing but despair and desolation, the Dragon King's roar and crumbled brickwork.

When she finally emerged from her daze, she often found her environment dramatically altered. Not so much on the ship, obviously her surroundings could not noticeably change there. But sometimes she'd 'awaken' and find where the sun had previously been high in the sky, it was now a bloody dot on the horizon. Or where she'd been below deck, she was now at the bow, leaning dangerously over the railings to stare at the surf.

This detachment from reality and the potholes in memory should have concerned her, yet they didn't. It was clear to everyone, even to Garnet herself, that her thoughts were in disarray. One morning, she had left her cabin wearing nothing but a shirt. Luckily, Freya had spotted her before any other, ushered her into a cabin and kindly amended the issue.

So she could blame what happened that day on her depression. Or perhaps she was just plain naive. Either way, she doubted the incident would've occurred at all if only she'd considered her choice of clothing more acutely.

"P-Princess…"

Garnet startled. She had been away in her mind again, staring across the changeless ocean. The gruff voice coaxed her back, however, because something irked her. It was Steiner, there was no doubt, but how had she not heard him approach? His armour was always a noisy declaration of his arrival.

Yet this was explained when she turned and found her knight's armour curiously absent. It was always shocking to see him thus, for he so rarely allowed himself to be seen so unkempt. His whirl of dark hair was askew courtesy to his helm, and his off-white shirt and leather breeches lent him a dishevelled look. However, without his protective covering the true nature of Steiner's build was revealed. With his armour, Steiner induced the illusion of being simply big. Without it, he boasted imposing muscle and shoulders so broad it was a wonder he needed armour at all. Garnet supposed his strength had to stem from somewhere, and his armour was awfully heavy. It was no wonder he maintained such a physique.

Before her journey she'd never seen him out of uniform. The man stubbornly refused to remove it in her presence, for formalities sake. Though really, she couldn't have cared less. But it looked like the burning midday heat had defeated him this once.

The knight misinterpreted her appraising look and bowed awkwardly. "I apologise for my inappropriate garb, Princess."

She shook her head and smiled weakly. After all this time she'd thought he wouldn't fuss so, but Steiner was so dutiful in his ways, it was almost bothersome to argue.

He looked up again, complexion slightly redder, and ran a hand through his tousled locks, a mannerism entirely foreign on Steiner. He coughed awkwardly and glanced at Garnet a handful of times, mouth opening and closing as he sought the words to express whatever it was he wanted to express.

And Garnet needn't have been a professor to deduce the nature of his agitation.

She waved a hand to indicate he hurry, and he released a further three coughs before finally admitting, "I… It is my opinion that… that… Her Majesty should… don something more… more… queenly…"

Not missing a beat, Garnet pointed to a mast where her wet overalls and blouse were draped following her earlier 'swim' in the ocean. Steiner acknowledged them with a brisk nod and said, "Yes, you majesty, I know you must wait for your garments to dry… but in the mean time… could you not… Freya must surely have…?"

The princess shook her head firmly, unable to explain that Freya's spare clothes had been washed earlier that morning, and were drying over a railing too. As for the others: Quina carried no spare clothes, Vivi's and Eiko's were far too small, Steiner's far too big and the thought of donning Zidane's and Blank's spare attire was a touch too embarrassing for the girl.

Steiner slumped dejectedly. Then his gaze turned shrewd and swivelled further along the rail, where his attention was drawn to a certain thief. The blonde flashed a grin, and merrily chirped, "Oh, don't mind me, I'm just enjoying the view!"

Steiner growled low his throat, muttered darkly, "I damn well noticed." He returned his attention to the queen. "I know it is not my place to direct Her Majesty's wardrobe, but I would be most appreciative if you reconsider this particular choice. Could your garments not dry whilst you wear them?"

She shook her head firmly.

So he threw her a despairing note. "But surely Her Majesty has noticed… noticed the attention she's been receiving." He cast Zidane a sidelong glare. "_Unwanted_ attention."

Of course she'd noticed. True, it was naïve of her to mount the deck wearing this, but she wasn't blind. The moment she'd ascended from the cabins Zidane had been on her like a moogle on a kupo nut. Even Blank, who had shown little carnal interest beforehand, had spared an appreciative stare. And while the queen was indebted to the redhead's subtly, the same could not be said for Zidane.

She glanced left and noticed how the blonde had edged closer during the exchange with Steiner. His tail skittered playfully as he spotted her attention, and he smiled winningly. "Hey, why don't you come over – "

But he only got thus far because Steiner blocked Garnet from view with his (now much more) intimating bulk, and proceeded to shoo him away like a fly from a dessert.

Zidane tried to play his usual card. "What? Can a _husband_ not look upon his _wife_?"

Garnet buried her head in her hands.

"D-don't you try that with me, you filthy monkey! I shall not –"

"Considering she's my _wife_, I think I'm within my rights to at least –"

"Silence!"

" –look. Are you shitty 'cause we didn't invite you to the _wedding_?"

"I demand you desist your crude –"

"You didn't miss much. Now the honeymoon, geez, _that_ was something to talk about."

Garnet stepped between the two before Steiner truly lost his temper, and fixed Zidane with a fierce glower. She pushed the thief lightly and he sobered a little, not meaning to have induced genuine anger. However, he spared her figure another wistful surveillance before trundling off to contemplate from afar.

Garnet turned back to her bodyguard and tried to placate him with a smile that was both scolding and pleading at once. Steiner huffed and heaved over the matter until Garnet signalled him away, and he dispersed to the bow to continue his angry surveillance.

Garnet leaned against the rail with a sigh. All this trouble over one silly dress! She thought Zidane long past his amorous antics, but this episode revealed how little she knew about him – and the male species in general!

She tugged at the hem of the leaf-dress. It was the only spare garment she could find that was dry and would fit, though the latter was arguable. Previously, she'd donned it when and as she'd planned: at night, when everyone was sleeping and darkness cloaked her bared limbs. But it seemed the only thing cloaked today was her sense, as she'd emerged from the cabins without a second thought for decency. The leaf-dress' high hemline revealed long pale limbs and a large portion of bust, all of which were gradually turning pink beneath the sun's onslaught. She'd only intended to wear it a few hours, but if she'd known what a kafuffle it would cause she never would have left the cabin in the first place.

Garnet looked about. Blank was steering the ship and Cid was beside him, chatting idly. Amarant was further along, cleaning his weapon. Vivi and Eiko sat side by side, the latter educating about numerous fish resident to the waters, while Quina intersected with recipes concerning such fish. Zidane was reclined against some piping, apparently asleep, while Steiner was seated opposite, _actually_ asleep. She could discern his snores even above the thrum of the Narciss' engines.

"You're burning, Princess."

Garnet looked to her left. Freya stood before her, casually reclined against the rail with an expression somewhere between concerned and amused. The princess blinked stupidly, prompting elaboration.

Freya gestured to Garnet's exposed legs. "Your skin is burning from exposure to the sun. See how your arms and legs turn pink? If you stay out much longer you'll be in a lot of pain come nightfall."

Garnet rashly surveyed Freya's furry appendages, unable to apprehend the confused expression, and, embarrassingly, the knight noticed. "No, I don't get sun burnt. I had the unfortunate job of applying lotion to _his_ – " she gestured to Zidane, not even wasting a glance " – back last night because the foolish oaf thought it fine to spend yesterday without a shirt. He paid for it the hard way."

Garnet smiled weakly.

"Probably best you take to the shade," Freya lectured in a light tone. "Considering the incompetent monkey is still wearing a sleeveless shirt, I'm not sure I'll have enough lotion for your burnt limbs as well."

The princess decided to obey. Her limbs _were_ beginning to grow unnaturally hot. She nodded to the Dragon Knight and drifted below deck.

The Blue Narciss sported a surprisingly large number of cabins. She supposed before their troupe had taken charge of its deck its primary function was cargo transportation. Such purpose required a substantial crew, which explained the number of sleeping quarters. However, like most ships, the sizes were hardly accommodating. Garnet had been blessed with the largest, yet it was no more than a fraction of the size of even the pokiest of country inn rooms. It fitted a narrow bed and drawer to keep her things; the lacklustre walls sporting a single vanity mirror the size of her fist.

However, she was better off than the others. There was only one other cabin aside from hers that didn't sport bunks, and that went to Cid. The other rooms were accommodated in pairs: Blank and Zidane, Vivi and Steiner, Eiko and Freya, and Quina and Amarant (though the lattermost preferred to sleep on deck. Garnet found his ability to shun company uncanny).

She supposed her companions thought they bestowed a great gift by granting her a single cabin, but truthfully, she'd rather have shared. Her nights were spent listening to unintelligible murmurs through walls; she felt isolated and lonely. Sleep would not come; she watched the silver moonlight slide across the cabin floor. The hours crawled by. And with nothing to distract her, the black depression devoured completely. When she finally did succumb, her dreams were twisted and disturbing and she'd wake alone and frightened.

Garnet sat on her bed and buried her face in her hands. What was she doing? Where was she going? Spending so much time in one place, the same scenery sliding by day after day, the same people, same smells, same food; it was doing well to muddle her senses further. If only she could think straight! If only emotion was a thing one could remove like a garment! It was endless and draining. She felt tired, but could not sleep. Felt like screaming, but could not speak. She didn't know what she wanted. Everything she did was a failure. What point was there in pursuing Kuja when she could not stop him?

Garnet had long thought herself long past crying, but now she felt hot tears wet her palms. She despised her tears, yet still they came to mock her. She cursed her weakness and inability.

Suddenly, the door to her cabin was thrown wide.

She near jumped out of her skin and leapt to her feet, turning from the door so the intruder would not see her tears. She refrained from wiping them though, for whoever it was would see the gesture and quickly draw conclusions.

Who would be so impolite and crass to not knock before entering a lady's quarters?

"Yo, Dagger!"

Silly question.

Garnet kept her back turned to Zidane and made out like she was rubbing her face in exasperation, while actually catching stray tears. Knowing the thief wouldn't depart with a mere nod, she turned and offered the most reassuring smile she could muster.

And only managed to look upset.

Zidane winced at her attempt and scratched the back of his head. He hummed awkwardly for a moment, then brashly suggested, "You wanna talk about it?" He made a face and quickly retracted, "Well, not – not talk about it, obviously, just err… maybe I talk and you… listen?"

Garnet gave him a look.

"Heh, heh. Yeah, didn't think so. I guess you do a lot of that, anyway, huh? Well, sittin' in here by yourself isn't gonna help anything, either. You should come up to the deck!"

Garnet pointed to her red arms and it took a strenuous few minutes for Zidane to understand. "Aw, sunburn aint so bad. Mine's a lot better today, see?" The blonde lifted his shirt to show her red, peeling skin beneath. She winced for him and he laughed. "Not as bad as it looks, honest! So d'ya wanna come up?"

She looked at the floor and shook her head. She just wanted to be alone.

But Zidane was bad at taking hints.

"Oh, okay. We'll stay here together – I'll keep you company!"

Garnet had never been too keen on the connotations behind Zidane's 'company', but the devious boy had a way of sidestepping Garnet's trepidations, especially now she was mute. So the blonde sprawled on her bed with a content sigh and stupid grin, hands clasped behind his head. He contemplated the nervous princess and thumped the covers with his tail, indicating she should sit.

She did, but at the far end. Her thoughts were muddy. Her eyes felt like cups full to the brim with water, ready to spill with the slightest of jolts. Even with Zidane brightening the cabin, reality swam in and out of darkness. Perhaps, before Alexandria was destroyed, she would have considered things in sharper perspective, and wondered why he was down here in the first place.

"Hey, don't zone out on me!"

She blinked and realised she had indeed 'zoned out'. She looked at the boy with large, watery eyes and he sighed miserably and sat up.

"I hate seein' you so sad. What can I do to cheer you up?"

She pointed to the door.

He conveniently ignored her.

"How about hug, huh? Nothing funny, just a hug."

She shook her head adamantly. Zidane pouted and held his arms out anyway. She stood and pointed to the door again. His hands fell limp to the covers, expression genuinely stung.

"I only want to see you smile again. I miss…" He paused, and glanced at the floor, looking a bit embarrassed. "I miss hearing your voice, you know? So I want you to get better." Before Garnet could contemplate the sincerity in his tone, it slipped a notch or two as he added, "'Cause you are my _wife_ and everything…"

She sighed soundlessly and crossed her arms. Her gaze found a stain on the wall and her mind began to drift again. The cabin lost focus and Zidane's frivolity lulled her into blackness.

If she hadn't lost her voice then no one would worry. If she wasn't so weak, so pathetic, then people could focus on Kuja and nothing else. She felt as useless as a sack of rocks her comrades had to drag along. It would be better for everyone if she were not here at all; if she went away and didn't come back. Better not just for her companions, but Alexandria too. Clearly she was not fit to be queen. The suggestion was laughable at best.

The black retreated a little as something whispered against her cheek. She looked up and found Zidane staring down at her. Somehow, he'd managed to close the space between them without her being aware. Was she really so numb to the world?

"Don't cry," he whispered, and she realised he'd wiped a tear from her cheek. He looked upset; his expression strained and eyes glassy.

She pulled away from him then, back hitting the wall. She was furious with herself for showing such weakness in front of one of her comrades – and Zidane of all people! To lose her voice was one thing, but to openly cry was intolerable. The continents were at war and cities in ruins. She was queen now, someone who demanded respect and authority. Yet she was crying like a child. She deserved no one's pity!

Upon seeing her expression shatter, Zidane reached out again, his eyes wide and despairing, desperate to ease her pain, but she batted his hand away and curled in on herself, arms clasped across her chest. She turned her face from his; her lip trembled. The tears streamed.

"Dagger, Dagger please don't – _don't_!"

He grasped at her again, as if trying to stop the fall of a fragile vase, and clung to her arms. She tried to wriggle from his grasp, tears splattering the floor and body wracked with soundless sobs. Her whole body felt heavy with grief and despair; even his touch was a dark thing.

"Dagger, please… please don't feel this way," he desperately implored. "I can't bear it. I can't bear the way you feel and I… I don't know what to do! Please, tell me what to do to make it go away. I'll do anything! Just don't… do this to yourself! _Please_!"

His last wish came out a strangled sob, and her weeping slowed as she finally faced him. He stared down at her with eyes that were pained and dark as the sea at night.

Garnet relaxed against his hold and the tears stopped. She stared at the floor between them. The blackness ebbed away, and she noticed her arms were hurting where he clutched them. Freya was right: she did get sunburnt.

She suddenly felt very tired and slumped forward a little, letting Zidane take a fraction of her weight.

Unfortunately, Zidane misunderstood the gesture.

Before she could respond, he drew Garnet to him and embraced her, hands locking against the small of her back. She could do nothing but stand for a moment, frowning dumbly over his shoulder.

But she let him hold her. The strap of his shirt had shifted a little, and she could see where red skin met a paler hue, a section that had been spared the sun's vengeance. She began noticing other things too: his heartbeat against her chest, the rough material of his trousers against her bare legs, the brush of his hair against her cheek, the warm breath on her neck. He smelt of sea and sun and her body felt as if it were a block of ice thawing in midday heat.

Her head began to feel a bit swimmy, not dissimilar to the morning in the tent. She lifted her hands from their stiff position by her thighs and let them linger in the air for a moment. Then she gingerly returned the embrace, starting with a nervous pat on the back. He didn't react, so she let her hand loiter and after another tentative moment her other hand joined the first.

He didn't move for a long time and she was becoming confused and awkward. Then it suddenly occurred to her that he might be upset. She'd felt no tears against her shoulder, but perhaps they fell in her hair? Garnet pulled back to catch his eye.

Unfortunately, Zidane misinterpreted this as well.

With their faces inches apart, Garnet contemplated Zidane visage and was relived to find his eyes dry. His expression was a little odd though, and this might have sent alarm bells ringing, or even called for further examination, but Garnet was lent no time to think as Zidane filled her thoughts with a kiss.

She instinctively jerked backward, more out of surprise than repulsion, but the wall was very inconveniently placed and she came up hard against it. Yet the bump wasn't so loud as to stop the blonde, so her hands found his chest and pushed. She didn't know what he was thinking, but he pulled her closer, trapping her hands between his and her chest. She blinked stupidly against his cheeks, head full of cobwebs. His lips were moving ever so slightly against hers, numbing her thoughts.

Then she snapped her head to the side, disengaging the kiss. When she looked back Zidane was frowning, puzzled, his mouth half open as if to say something. She gave him a little push again, meeting his mystified frown with her own. He went to speak and leaned forward, and she thought he inclined to kiss her again so jolted backward, bumping her ahead against the wall a second time.

And it was when Garnet opened her eyes, bidding the stars return to the sky, that she spotted _him_.

Steiner. Frozen in the open doorway, one hand on the door handle, and the other limp at his side.

Most would have expected an expression of utter bewilderment; maybe even embarrassment, but Garnet heard those belated warning bells ringing in her ears the moment she _felt_ Steiner's anger. It radiated in noxious waves; she needn't have analysed his expression.

She turned to Zidane, whose back was to the door, and opened her mouth to warn him. But of course, only silence preceded her attempts and by then it was too late.

She caught a glimpse of a visage that had surpassed mortal anger. Of eyes so dark and flashing they challenged Odin's wrath. With all his raucous nature, it was easy to forget that Steiner's title as Captain hadn't been acquired through blundering. Easy to forget the raw strength behind rusting armour and imposing sword.

And Zidane was to be reminded the hard way.

Steiner crossed the room in a single stride. The thief turned in surprise and was spared no time to react as Steiner grabbed him by the throat.

Garnet watched in horror as Zidane was lifted clean off the floor, feet suspended five inches above the boards. His face reddened quickly and his breath came in wheezing gasps as he scrabbled at the hand encompassing his throat. Steiner's face was calm as midnight water, yet his eyes were thunderheads, wide and wild with untainted fury.

Wasting not another second, Garnet leapt at her bodyguard, mouth working silently. She usually approached Steiner's rash antics with a commanding chide, but now her expression was downright beseeching as she pawed uselessly at the arm ensnaring the thief.

Steiner's gaze flicked briefly to his distressed queen, and that was all the opening Zidane needed. Zidane, whose own strength was underestimated too, by his lean build and jovial nature, kicked out and caught Steiner hard on his unprotected chest. The knight doubled over and slackened his grip, allowing the blonde to drop to the floor, gasping and coughing and clutching his scarlet throat.

"Y-you… you bastard!" Zidane croaked.

Garnet thought the ordeal to be over, but Steiner's rage was a spur not to be underestimated.

Yet it was Zidane who made the next move. The accuracy and strength behind his punch could not be faulted, yet Steiner caught it as if it were no more than a drunken flail. The boy made the mistake of trying to reclaim his fist, and in that pause Steiner's arm retracted.

It was clear to Garnet that every year of training, toned muscle and pent-up hatred was behind that swing. His whole body turned with it. His jaw was clenched and his eyes bright with fury. Perhaps he had waited for this excuse since the day he'd met Zidane. Perhaps he didn't see Zidane as such, but another nameless heathen. Perhaps he had passed the line of all rational sense. At any rate, the power behind his punch was undeniable.

Steiner's fist met Zidane's face with an almighty crack. It sent him sprawling, rendering him unconscious before he hit the floor.

If Garnet had been with voice, she would have screamed.

But Zidane was quick to awaken. Not a few moments later he was groaning and spitting blood, revealing an eye that was already swelling shut and red as the sunburn on his arms. He sat up groggily and Garnet crouched beside him, offered a hand that was brusquely knocked away.

Zidane got to his feet and stared hard at Steiner. The queen went to her bodyguard and pressed a hand against his broad chest, mouthing he cease, calm down, stop the madness. She wished she had her voice so she could command him verbally.

But it wasn't necessary.

"If I _ever_ see you touching the princess in a way that she does not approve…" Steiner's voice was level and rumbling, like distant thunder. "…I shall cut you down without a thought. You will _not_ take advantage of her while her thoughts are in turmoil. It is the lowest thing a man can do."

Garnet stared for a moment at Steiner, then back to Zidane. The thief looked bewildered. He spared the princess a pleading, puzzled look and started to defend himself. But his words quickly whispered away and his expression hardened again, seeing his critical audience unwilling to listen.

He stormed from the room.

And Garnet didn't leave her cabin until they reached the Outer Continent, except to throw the leaf-dress overboard.

* * *

You know what? I think it's about time we saw this side of Steiner. I don't think I need to explain any of the characters' actions in this chapter. A twisted part of me has always wanted to see Steiner proper smack Zidane one, and it confused me why he didn't, considering he was the princess' bodyguard and all. Or maybe I'm just a violent person O_o …

Review… _or else_… :wields angry Steiner:


	14. Activities For The Absent Minded

(Activities for the Absent Minded)

Zidane was full of annoying habits. He slurped while drinking, he burped _after_ drinking, he was perpetually fiddling with something or other, he spat and swore and ate with his fingers, washed himself with other people's cleaning things, he spoke loudly about everything –especially things that should not be spoken loudly about – and stared with a glazed expression at Garnet when he thought she wasn't looking, and she dared not ask what he was thinking about (though he often announced it straight after – he always expressed the most inappropriate of thoughts). So even if Garnet wished to spend tedious minutes (hours?) writing his annoying habits, she doubted there would be enough ink at hand to complete such a feat.

And while Garnet tolerated and even came to accept these faults, it seemed they were limitless, so she was hardly surprised when he demonstrated yet another: the ability to disappear at the most inconvenient of times.

"Alright, guys, I'm heading off. I'll be back in a sec."

He was already trundling away when he announced this, backpack bulging with supplies and both Sargatanas and Gladius strapped to his beltline, but Freya quickly captured his tail as he tried to steal past her, and reeled him in for explanation with a: "Oh no you don't. Where do you think you're going?"

He released an agitated whimper and wriggled his behind, trying to shrug off Freya's grip without having his furry limb dislocated in the process. "I'm just goin' for a walk! Leggo!"

"A walk, hmm? And how long is this walk going to take?"

"Oh… aahh… well…"

"Are we not going to the Black Mage Village?"

"Y-yeah, but I can meet you there! Or err… I wont be long anyway, so you can wait here and… I'll… be back… soon…?" His lame excuse withered beneath Freya's steady gaze and he threw a desperate pout instead, rounding his sorry attempt off with an even sorrier: "Just a _little_ walk?"

The dragon knight relented her grasp and his tail went thrashing away like an angry snake, the boy taking a measured step back in case she changed her mind.

"I suppose then. But really, Zidane, last time you said you'd be back –"

"I know."

" – in an hour, and you were gone two days! Please just try – "

"Uh-huh."

" – and be back before it gets dark and –"

"Yeeaahhh."

" – don't use up all of our… You're not listening are you?"

"Hmm?"

Freya bit back a groan and waved a dismissive paw, deeming her companion unfit for such tutoring.

Zidane scooted back and, upon spotting Garnet nearby, graced her with a sly smirk and a whispered: "Heh heh. The 'I'm not listening' trick works every time."

He went to barge past then, but when Garnet reached out and gave his cuff a tug he stopped and turned back, smirk replaced with surprise.

"What?"

She cocked her head and gestured to the door, then to herself, then to him.

"Huh?"

She repeated the gesture, only to be met with further confusion. However, Freya's deftly interpreted the unspoken query and said, "I do not think it's wise for you to leave, Princess. Best to stay in the village, where it is safe."

Garnet turned to the dragon knight and shook her head, pointed to Zidane and his weapons.

Freya contemplated this a moment. "Well… Yes I'm sure he could but… Where are you even going, Zidane?"

The boy rolled his shoulders and vaguely hummed: "Around."

Freya gave Garnet a look. "You _still_ want to go?"

"Go where?" Zidane chirped.

"With you, you idiot! She's asking if she can go with you!"

"Oh." The blonde scratched his head, mildly surprised. "I guess so. Don't see why not." He brightened. "Hey, it'll be like a date!"

Freya groaned. "And you _still_ want to go?"

Garnet nodded. She'd rather descend the seven circles of hell than be here.

They'd been crossing the plains of the Lost Continent, on their way to the Black Mage Village, and Vivi had been injured. It was a trifle injury by a meagre monster, but Garnet's thoughts had been elsewhere and she'd failed to summon a cure. Unfortunately, the talon of the beast held traces of poison, and Vivi's wound had become infected. They had to detour to Conde Petie and call upon Eiko's services, so now the little girl was fussing over the mage at the inn, while Steiner was helpfully creating his own chaos by grilling the dwarves over the legitimacy of the 'ceremony.'

She just needed to get away.

"Come hither then, my wife," Zidane announced with an exaggerated Treno accent and an outstretched hand. "Let us be on our way."

She brushed off his offer and exited the inn's parlour alone. Zidane blew a raspberry, inadequately consoled Freya's worries with a lewd wink, then scuttled after the princess with a spring in his step.

Outside, the day was glorious. The heat was made pleasant by a cool breeze and the land was mottled with cloud-shadows. Rabbits darted from burrows and the mountains supplied breathtaking scenery. Yet even this could not lighten Garnet's heart, heavy with the burden of Vivi's infliction.

"Hey, cheer up!" Zidane sang, catching her expression. "It wasn't your fault, y'know. Vivi's not mad or anything. We know you're not well right now. Smile for me, okay?"

She looked away and his spirits dampened for a moment. Then he clicked his fingers and perked up. "Well, you'll be smiling soon! I've got the best present for you ever!"

She stared at him through dark eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"Oh, I'm not tellin' ya!" he crowed, misinterpreting her expression (as he usually did). "You'll find out soon enough!"

_Great. It's either a surprise grope or something he's found on the floor,_ Garnet thought miserably, before promptly losing herself in black thoughts.

So they trekked on for a while, Garnet too despondent to notice Zidane's uncharacteristic silence, and Zidane too preoccupied to notice Garnet's disinterest. They left Conde Petie behind a steep hill, and the plain they were traversing suddenly became packed sand. The alteration in texture roused Garnet from her thoughts and she studied her environment curiously. The ground seemed to be missing a large chunk of grass, as if it were balding. Upon closer inspection, she found it bore numerous abrasions. Scratch marks? A monster's den!

She turned to Zidane and found him inspecting the surface likewise. After a moment of intent staring, he straightened and proclaimed: "Yup, here'll do just fine."

She cocked her head and looked about, suspecting the approach of a monster at any moment. Why did Zidane insist on lingering? Clearly it was dangerous, and even though Zidane's strength was unquestionable, Garnet knew it was unwise to tempt combat considering her unstable mentality.

She tugged his hand beseechingly, but he ignored her and shrugged off his backpack. It fell to the ground with a muffled _thunk_, and he dropped to his haunches to rummage through.

Garnet shifted. The scratches on the ground implied the beast to be carnivorous, for what else sported talons that made fissures as deep as these? Had Zidane not noticed?

The tailed boy released an elated note and stood again, something in hand. "Found it!" he proclaimed. "Are you ready?"

She frowned. Zidane was full of surprises and only half of them pleasant. Then the smell of whatever he held struck her, and she took several steps back.

"Yeah, stinks, don't it?" he noted the obvious, though hardly seemed bothered. "Freya don't let me carry 'em around but one of the dwarf's was sellin' them so I thought 'what the hell.'"

His elusive explanation did nothing to subdue the smell, though. It wasn't particularly unpleasant, something like compost and moist vegetation, but its strength was overpowering and growing by the second.

Zidane remained unperturbed. He stood in the middle of the clearing and, much to Garnet's surprise, stuck thumb and forefinger into his mouth and whistled a long, shrill note.

_What on Gaia is he doing? _

The boy looked around and whistled a few more times, the piercing note ringing clear across the landscape, bouncing from mountain to mountain and skimming every knoll like a serpent through water. The smell of plant was becoming intolerable now, and Garnet covered her nose with her sleeve, eyes watering against the putrid intrusion.

Then Zidane's gaze fixed on something beyond, and he smiled widely. "It's about bloody time!"

Garnet turned and immediately spotted the object of his attention. It wasn't hard to see; its red plumage was stark against the grassy background, and it kicked up an impressive cloud of earth and foliage in its wake. Garnet also noticed the speed at which it approached, and how it really didn't seem keen to slow down even though it was really really close now and –

_Oh!_

The princess leapt behind Zidane just as the large beast trampled the spot on which she'd just stood. It skidded to a stop inches before the unmoved blonde, mud and dust spurting upward. Garnet managed to shield herself behind Zidane's bulk, though said shield wasn't so lucky – or so concerned.

"Hi, Choco!" she heard him greet brightly, and peered over his shoulder to investigate what he'd summoned. This was hardly necessary, though; the characteristic shriek was sufficient.

"Kweeehhh!"

Garnet had seen chocobos many times. They were hardly uncommon beasts, both wild and tamed. The closest she'd seen one was in Dali, and its immense size had struck her most. And this time was even more daunting, for this chocobo was wild and outside protective barriers, its size incredibly intimidating for a girl just scraping five-foot-two. She'd heard stories of frightened birds trampling owners, and of aggressive ones disembowelling with large talons, so she looked upon this chocobo with caution. It was a full two heads higher than she, with armoured legs and plumage the colour of fire. It was the lattermost she was intrigued by, for she'd only seen chocobo's of sunny hue, but she knew so little about the species she wasn't confident to question.

Zidane reached out and patted the bird's copper-red beak. It made an odd, curdling noise deep in its throat and lowered its head so Zidane could scratch the tufts of feathers on top. It stood straight then, and pointedly eyed the stinking foliage in the blonde's other hand. Zidane surrendered it without question and it gobbled the plant eagerly; the smell disappeared alongside green tufts.

"This is Choco!" Zidane announced with a needless gesture, looking over his shoulder at the princess who still clung to him fearfully. "You don't need to be scared, he's really friendly." Zidane thumped his chest. "Trained him myself! Loyal as an old dog."

Garnet pursed her lips, then gingerly abandoned her human shield. The chocobo's dark eyes turned to her, and she was startled by the raw intellect within. Not an ordinary beast, it seemed.

"Choco, this Dagger," he introduced, before leaning forward and adding in a mock whisper: "She's my wife, so be nice."

Garnet elbowed him and when the chocobo squealed she leapt back, terrified the beast would attack her for trouncing its master. But the bird made no such move and Zidane laughed. "What's up with you, scaredy-cat? He wont hurt you! Go on, give 'im a pat."

The princess would rather have not, but she extended an uncertain hand to appease Zidane. Choco cocked its head at the girl, large eyes considering her, then lowered its head to be stroked. She did so, and Choco chirped delightedly.

"Aw, see, he likes you! I told ya he wouldn't bite. Alright then, you ready?"

Garnet finished petting the giant bird and turned to frown at Zidane, but he was already walking away. He stopped before Choco's head, rummaged round in his backpack, then retrieved what Garnet thought to be a whip. She was shocked, for such cruel behaviour was so unlike Zidane, but when he indicated for Choco to lower his head and began fiddling with the 'whip', she realised it was a bridle. He wriggled it over Choco's beak and threw the reins over its neck, then approached the chocobo's flank. The beast lowered itself a little and Zidane mounted him with an air of practised ease. Choco turned and the blonde extended a hand to her.

"C'mon then."

She looked from Zidane's hand, to his face and to the giant bird, then shook her head.

"Aw, c'mon. It'll be fine. It's fun to ride chocobos!"

Garnet wasn't convinced.

"I promise I wont make him go fast, okay? Or jump or dive or anything."

Still not convinced.

"Ah… geez. Will you just trust me? Nothing bad will happen. I promise."

The princess sighed and gave the ground one last wistful look before finally relenting. Zidane tapped Choco lightly with his heel and the bird lowered itself. Garnet clasped his hand and, combined with a clumsy leap on her behalf, mounted the crimson beast.

It was quite an alarming thing, at first. The ground was rather far away and the chocobo seemed to drastically lurch with every step. She was nestled almost in the crook of Choco's large neck, with Zidane pressed firmly against her back. She could see his knees on either side of her, a hand resting against the left with reins in tow. She wondered if he needed to be close, but wearily decided to avoid the question and abide his nature, just this once.

She hadn't been too worried about falling, but that possibility reared into view when the chocobo started moving. Its long legs covered ground quickly and the scenery whizzed by at a frightening rate. It didn't help that Choco was clearly excited to have another passenger. Its movements were erratic and its head occasionally swivelled to observe its passengers. Yet this quelled Garnet's fear that its back might be too weak to support them both, though the same couldn't be said for her fear of tumbling.

But of course, Zidane was one step ahead.

"Heh heh, you need your safety belt again?"

Something long and wiry wrap about her waist – a feeling that was becoming disturbingly familiar. Of course, the intruder was a wily tail. She pinched it, but to no avail, and Zidane childishly crowed: "Didn't hurt."

So she tried to pry it off with her fingers, but found it unmovable.

"Gonna have to try harder than that," Zidane teased.

Garnet let out a silent yell. She pulled and pushed pried until her fingers throbbed with the effort, Zidane's chuckles supplying irritating backdrop, until she simply elbowed him in the belly.

His tail unwound like ribbon from a present (she ignored the feeling of instability this caused) but Zidane was quick to reassert a connection. "Oooh, I get it. You want me to use my hands."

On cue, Garnet felt hands encircle her waist. She nearly jumped off the chocobo with fury, but strangely, Zidane surrendered his mitts before she could take action.

"But seriously, you're gonna have to hold to something," he pressed. "Choco can go pretty fast, and we've got a long way to travel." He paused. "You didn't mind my tail when we were climbing the Iifa Tree."

That was true, but when there's nothing but air and root beneath your feet, there is hardly a point to argue.

But Garnet wasn't stupid. She leaned forward and encircled her arms about Choco's neck. He was gloriously soft (she suddenly understood why people stuffed pillows with chocobo feathers) and sturdy too, and quite delighted by the attention. He chirped and fluttered his fiery wings and pranced like a horse on show.

"C-Choco! Stop stealing my woman!" Zidane protested lamely, and Garnet actually chuckled (albeit silently). "Well, you can't hold onto him like that for long, unless you wanna go flying feet over head. So you're gonna have to chose between tail or hands at some point."

Garnet stuck her tongue out at him. He prodded the sensitive spot on her side and she yelped silently. He cawed with laughter and leaned back a little, granting her some space. She thought he was being considerate, but it turned out he was rummaging through his rucksack again.

He talked amiably to the chocobo as he did so. "Geez, Choco, you're hyper today. Mene been feedin' you Kupo Nuts again? I dunno how you put up with that weird moogle. So… where we goin' today, buddy? Any ideas? I can't even remember where we went last time. Was the Mist Continent or the Forgotten Continent?"

_Is this what Zidane does every time he disappears?_ Garnet wondered. _When and how did he get this chocobo? It seems tame and yet must be wild, for it came from across the mountains. Where are we going anyway?_

"Here it is! Err… Ah, it's not that far. You wanna look, Dagger?"

His arm stretched round her, heedless of her reply, and she took a scrap of parchment from him. It was torn about the edges and tremendously dirty, but she could just about discern a collection of lines that formed (after some scrutiny) a picture of a beach. Beneath it, was a scrawling of: 'Abandoned Beach. There's a beach near a huge dying forest. That might be it, kupo!'

_Kupo_?

"He's got crappy handwriting, aint he? Yeah, Mene's really weird."

Choco squawked solemnly at this, as if agreeing. Garnet had no idea what Zidane was talking about, but realised they were heading toward this 'Abandoned Beach', with nothing but a crudely drawn map as their a guide, illustrated by, of all things, a 'weird' moogle. _And_ Zidane had decided to shift back to his original intimate position, alongside a contented sigh.

Garnet wondered if staying in Conde Petie had been such a bad idea after all.

Zidane jerked the reins and Choco picked up speed with a delighted chirp. Garnet had thought their previous pace fast, but this was terrifying! With every step she felt herself slipping sideways and clung to the chocobo's neck for near life. This time Choco didn't seem so pleased by the death grip and let out a low twitter.

Zidane tutted and pulled Garnet back, tearing her grip from Choco's neck alongside a few feathers. He wrapped his tail about her waist and firmly told her: "Don't hold him like that or else he wont be able to run properly. Just go with the movements; you'll get used to it. This isn't even as fast as he can go, y'know. I'm making sure he goes slow for you."

Dear gods, was he serious!? Choco was matching the pace of a Lindblum aircab and this wasn't even his top speed? How did Zidane find the courage to ride such a beast?

And despite the boy's words of reassurance, Garnet couldn't fight the fear of falling. She was stiff as a rod, jerking with every movement Choco made, and fervently wishing for something to cling to. Zidane's tail constricted, but when the plains steepened into a mountainside the ride became unbearably bumpy. She would have fallen clean off if not for Zidane's quick hands and sturdy tail. He reined Choco to a stop impatiently.

"You're not a natural at this, are you?"

She was embarrassed and upset, but hid it well beneath a veil of anger. She wriggled down to solid ground and stamped her foot, wanting nothing more than to return to Conde Petie.

Zidane stared at her pensively. Choco matched her stamp with his own, intelligent eyes scanning the terrain beyond as if eager to depart again.

"We're almost there," the thief said, "and you'll probably do better behind me. Then you can hold on to me, okay?"

She scowled and crossed her arms, catching whiff of one of his lewd schemes. Zidane usually countered this was a mischievous smile, but his eyes had turned to the unknown too, and she suddenly realised why the adventurous boy and animated chocobo got on so well.

Well, she really didn't want to ruin Zidane's trip, especially now his eagerness was apparent. She mounted the chocobo yet again but took a place behind the thief. She was averse to pressing herself so firmly against him at first, but when Choco started moving again and the ground became rocky and treacherous, Garnet reformed her thinking and hugged Zidane close. Her 'safety belt' returned too, and she actually managed to feel secure.

The scenery rolled by. The foliage withered away into tough shrubs and the air thinned as they ascended the mountain. She commended Zidane's talent for steering and Choco's boundless stamina. Both were clearly invigorated by the task, and even Garnet felt adrenalin searing her veins as plunging drops loomed on both sides, nothing but a crumbling rock-path to support them.

With the mountain conquered and left to shrink in their wake, they traversed a stretch of desert, consisting of cracked rock baked hard by the sun and little else. With not even a stray cloud to shade them, the teenagers began to sweat beneath the sun's onslaught, and Garnet's clothes and hair stuck to her skin. She watched beads of moisture draw dark lines through the dirt on Zidane's bare arms, and felt him hot beneath her grasp. He repeatedly wiped his forehead with the back of his wrist and even Choco seemed to tire.

Zidane briefly consulted the 'map' and reassured in a raspy voice: "Not far. It's somewhere along that beach."

She looked to where he indicated and did indeed spot a curve of gold, combing the cracked surface with sandy fingers. The 'Abandoned Beach'.

They arrived some minutes later. Zidane immediately went to dismount but Garnet prodded, poked and gestured until he understood her point: she wanted to traverse further along the beach until they reached its tip. Here, outcroppings of rock provided plentiful shade, where the rest of the beach was flat and baked by intense heat.

Once there, Zidane wearily leapt down and turned to help Garnet. Thankful to be on firm ground, the princess stretched her cramped muscles and drank deeply from the water flask Zidane offered. The boy drank a little himself, then instructed Garnet to pour some water into his cupped hands. She did so, and he let the chocobo drink from them.

Then Zidane began to take off his clothes.

"I dunno about you," he said, tugging off his shirt, "but I'm goin' for a swim. I'm sweating like pig in a fur coat."

She'd been in a bit of a stupor, but when he tugged his trousers off she abruptly turned away, the sun blameless for the heat in her cheeks. It was so silly; she'd seen Zidane unclad many times. Perhaps it was his shameless indifference that flustered her so?

She petted Choco distractedly, who had found a shady nook to nest in.

"You wanna come?"

She stiffened, still didn't turn, and shook her head.

"It's way hot, though."

She waved him away.

"Tch. Suit yourself."

There was the distinctive patter of feet on sand as Zidane ran, leaped and embraced the sea with an elated yell and tremendous splash. She knelt beside Choco (her fear of the bird utterly dissipated) and embraced its sturdy neck. The chocobo clucked in a way that was either irritated or pleased; she could not tell, so she backed off just in case, and petted its beak while it watched her with eyes that always seemed a russet blend of reproach and delight.

However, the petting was an inadequate distraction, for the sound of splashing and lapping waves was driving her mad. The sweat was sticky, the temperature unbearable, and the itch on her thighs and forearm declared heat rash. The idea of a swim was blissful, heavenly, taunting. But with Zidane there…? It was an idea as pleasing as it was embarrassing. True, he had seen her in her underwear some times before, but could she so readily strip before him? The waves would hide her form, but what was she to do when she had to bask in the sun to dry? There was nowhere to hide on the beach, and she doubted Zidane would have the decency to keep his eyes to himself.

She turned to look upon the ocean. It glittered beneath the sun; a vast blanket of blue dusted with topaz. Zidane was further along the beach, paddling lazily on his back, but letting the waves do most of the work as they lulled him in and out alongside the tide.

Garnet let her gaze travel in the other direction, where the beach became rocks and rocks a bank. She spotted small pockets of water and went to inspect them. They were pools of sea, trapped between rocks riddled with seaweed and limpets. They were relatively deep and she saw little fish darting in and out of crevices and colourful corals. The rocks created a small barrier to the rest of the world, too.

She looked over her shoulder and found Zidane as she'd last seen, gaze to the sky and swimming aimlessly. He was singing to himself, though the words and tune were lost amid the waves.

Quickly, Garnet stripped to her undergarments. The sweat had caused her overalls to shrink somewhat, so she had to peel them from her skin, feeling absurdly like an orange banana. She threw them and her blouse over an outcropping and slipped into the pool.

Any reservations she'd had melted like snow as the dirt and sweat slid from her limbs. The temperature of the pool was glorious, warmed by the sun so not to be freezing, but cool enough to shun the burning heat. She wallowed for a moment, toes barely skimming the sandy bottom. Fish shied away. She took a breath, dunked her head beneath the surface and emerged feeling wonderfully revitalised. She even allowed herself a small smile, slicking hair from her shining face.

Reluctantly, she clambered out. She stood to let the droplets roll off her skin like little marbles, the rocks becoming mottled with dark splashes. She lay down with her feet submerged in the pool and the boulders shared the warmth they'd stolen from the sun. Waves crashed and little fish nibbled her toes.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath of air fresh and salty. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so at peace. The blackness of her thoughts had washed into subtle greys, and even though her voice was still far from reach, she wallowed in the sensation of feeling slightly better.

Waves caressed the shoreline and she heard Choco twitter nearby.

In times like these, she could forget her troubles, caught in a temporary limbo between reality and wistful fantasy. If only the world was perpetually at peace like this, then no longer would her worries haunt her. If she had the choice, she would lose herself in such a world.

Sounds became muffled and her thoughts slowed to an indistinct hum, and she suddenly realised she was on the brink of sleep. She opened her eyes again to wake herself, knowing she couldn't very well fall asleep now, though she couldn't for the life of her remember why –

Zidane!

She sat up and looked to the sea. The waves rippled like sheets on a laundry line. He'd left the ocean, as far as she could tell, and he didn't seem to be on the beach, either. Had he run into trouble? What kind of monsters lurked beneath the waves? But surely, with the water so clear, he would have spotted them? Or at least shouted? Maybe he'd –

"Looking for someone?"

She turned to find him prostrate beside her. His limbs were star-fished on the rock face; his eyes were shut though he sported a wide grin. His clothes were still gone aside from his underpants, and streams of seawater trickled from his skin and returned to the pool.

Her arms shot across her chest to cover herself, though she immediately deemed this unnecessary. How long had he been there? She did not know, but wagered he'd already had a good look while she'd dozed. Damn his silent, thieving ways! And damn her negligence!

He stretched then, chest arching upwards and a strained groan easing from his lips. "It's so nice," he commented breathlessly. "I'm glad I went for a swim." He opened his eye a crack and her arms stiffened across her chest. "Aren't you?"

She looked away, heat rising to her cheeks. She found herself unspeakably angry with him. He knew how she felt about things like this and asked again and again why the gods had failed to grant him the decency to leave her be. Were all males like this, or was it just Zidane? Why hadn't she bathed and dressed immediately after? Why couldn't she just piece her thoughts together?

Much to her frustration, tears blurred her eyes. She stood before he could see and went to the nearest point of cover: Choco. She clambered over the bird and knelt the other side, blocking her body from Zidane's view with crimson feathers. She buried her face in his wing. Choco clucked sympathetically, and teased her wet hair with its beak.

"Are you mad at me?"

She ignored him.

"Aw, Dagger, don't be like that! I wasn't spying or anything. I wanted to dry off too, but couldn't lay on the sand or else it would all get stuck to me. Finding you was just an added bo – err – surprise! I didn't mean anything by it, honest." He paused. "And I've seen you in your underwear before, right?"

She cringed into Choco's feathers.

"You've got nothing to be ashamed of."

Missing the genuine (albeit very Zidane-like) compliment behind his tone, Garnet picked up a nearby shell and lobbed it at him. It struck home, and though it hardly hurt, the intention behind the throw certainly did. Zidane winced.

"Look, I'm sorry if I'm an ass, okay?" His genuinely apologetic tone made her look up, dark eyes framed with fiery feathers. He continued: "And… about what happened on the Blue Narciss… you know it was an accident, right? Like, I got a bit confused…" He looked down at his hands with a frown and she sat up, bemused by his uncharacteristic tone. "I am still a bit confused. Most of the time. Around you. I err… my thoughts get like, weird and… and I used to be like, smooth and better with saying things but, see, it's just that… ah shit, sorry. I'm an idiot. Forget it." He turned his back to her, tail smacking the rock in unwarranted retribution.

She remembered the way he'd spoken while they'd climbed the Iifa Tree. So sombre and thoughtful, stuttering with his words and expression uncomfortably confused. She wished she had the words and voice to comfort him, though she had no idea for the reasons behind his behaviour. It seemed he didn't either.

Perhaps she had misjudged him somewhat. Perhaps the kiss on the Narciss _had_ been a genuine misunderstanding and perhaps he _had_ approached the rock looking for a clean place to dry off. But even if these possibilities were true, she still refused to grant him leeway. For her own sake, if not his.

She got up, retrieved her clothes and began to dress. Choco was an excellent towel; she was dry enough for the taut material of her overalls to reclaim her skin. Zidane sulked the entire time; pouting at the pool and watching a starfish make its laborious journey over nook and cranny.

Garnet tapped him on the shoulder and when he looked (summoning his most reproachful expression, she noted) she handed him his clothes and smiled. There wasn't much warmth or meaning behind it, but it was enough to console him and he smiled back.

After he'd dressed, he told Garnet to wait by the rocks while he 'hunted for treasure' with Choco. She raised her eyebrows and decided not to question this absurd claim. Zidane seemed very sure of himself, after all.

She watched as he brought out the poor map, scrutinised it, then directed Choco further up the beach. The bird then began scratching around in the sand, its beak plummeting downward and generally making a racket. Garnet found this highly entertaining to watch – if a little bemusing – and remained truly ignorant to the situation until the bird made a tremendous squawk and began digging manically with its claws. When it finally stopped, Zidane leapt from its back and pulled from a sandy grave something that looked suspiciously like a treasure chest. But surely not, for what would a treasure be doing buried beneath shovels of sand?

At any rate, Zidane returned to the princess with a wide grin and Choco was more excited than ever. The boy extended an arm down to her, something clasped in a closed hand, and indicated for Garnet to take it.

"For you," Zidane said. "For putting up with me."

Garnet cupped her palms and into them Zidane tipped a pile of rocks. They were dusty grey and irregular in size, the biggest the dimension of her thumbnail. She held one up to the light and saw it contained rivets of misty blue.

"Sapphires," Zidane explained, and she gawped in amazement at the sudden treasure trove in her hand. Of course, the thief misread her expression and apologetically said: "Yeah, not much to look at right? They're in their natural state. But I was thinking of making a necklace for you. Like, a really nice one. Whadya think?"

If Garnet hadn't been mute, she would have been speechless. Either Zidane didn't realise what a fortune he'd dug up, or he was truly a magnanimous person. Strangely, she found herself believing the latter.

She smiled up at him then, a wide and warm smile Zidane hadn't seen for weeks. It was forgiving and touching, lighting her dark eyes with shards of amber, and it made the tedious desert crossing all worthwhile.

She handed the sapphires back to Zidane for safe keeping, and he wrapped them in one of his socks (a gesture she found quite amusing) and stashed it in a pocket on the inside of his rucksack. That done, he held his hand out for her.

"Let's get going. The others will wonder where we are. Rusty's probably massacring the entire dwarven population as we speak."

Garnet knew he was right, but found herself reluctant to leave. This abandoned beach offered her dark soul rest. Time seemed deficient here and the waves shunned problems from mind. She wanted to stay here forever, and strangely, she wanted Zidane to stay too. And Choco. They could dig for jewels forever, and swim whenever they got too hot and count the fish beneath the waves and make things from the shells and –

"Hey, don't look so sad. We can come back, okay?"

She looked up at him, her eyes pleading and desperate without meaning to be.

"'Course we can!" Zidane reassured, reading her expression correctly for once. "When everything's done we'll come back and err… lay on the rocks or something. With our clothes _on_. Alright?"

Garnet hugged Zidane close as they began the trek back to Conde Petie.

* * *

Before you crit, I know my geography was a bit off, but.... meh. XP

Gah, well, I don't know how bad the recession is in America, but it's tearing England to shreds. So yup, like thousands of others, I'm outta of the job, which means I have no money. Also, the relationship I'm in has become rockier than the Grand Canyon. So what does all this mean? Means I wont be writing for a while. This was a pre-written chapter done some weeks ago sooo yeeaaahhh. Don't feel like writing much nowadays. Rest assured, it will get done (sooner than the economy recovers that's for sure) but check back to my profile for updates. Thanks guys! You da best.


	15. Elusive Nature

(Elusive Nature)

Garnet awoke alone on the side of a hill.

Though the term 'awoke' was technically inaccurate. She had traversed the plains awake, though her dark daze had descended and she remembered nothing of it. She 'woke' from her stupor with only a vague recollection of where she was and where she was going and blinked round at her dramatically altered environment stupidly. Her last memory was of plush pillows and the grandeur of Lindblum Castle. Now she was faced with a jagged cliff of battered rock, its crude vastness severed only by the grand doors of Dragon's Gate. Her gaze drifted higher and she spotted Lindblum, airships cruising round its peaks, looking like lazy bees humming in and out of a hive at such a distance.

A familiar plain dominated the landscape to her front. Qu's Marsh was barely discernable (oh, she would do well to avoid _that_ hateful place) and the mountains were distant smears bordering flat pastures. There were patches of trees too; little woods that barely stretched three miles.

How far had she wandered? Judging the distance from Dragon's Gate to her current position, not that far. The endless stretch of grassland was deceiving, but she reckoned not two miles. It did irk her that she recalled nothing of the trek, however. And where was her weapon?

She patted herself down and realised with a silent groan: _I left it behind_. _I actually _forgot_ it._

The queen suddenly felt naked on the open plain. There were tangles of shrubbery and the grass was quite tall; monsters could be lurking anywhere! How careless she was to traverse so far unarmed! Though white magic did not need a weapon to be cast, she couldn't cross such infested lands without any means of protecting herself…

And yet…

She turned to contemplate Lindblum again, partly concealed behind a mantle of low cloud.

She had left for a reason, that much she was sure of, though the consuming depression had erased any memory of why. However, she did feel an inexplicable urge to return to her homeland, to her kingdom, to Alexandria. And more specifically, a desire to visit her mother's grave.

If she returned to Lindblum now, Steiner would increase his guardianship tenfold (the fact she had managed to escape his supervision at all was befuddling). She could ask to return to Alexandria, of course, but who would want to go so far just so she could visit her mother's grave? There were more important things at hand, so she decided not to worry others with her petty affairs. She was burden enough already.

Yes, she must go it alone. Come forest, come sleet, come monster: she would face them all and return to Alexandria. No one would stand in her way!

"Where do you think you're going?"

If Garnet had been with voice, she would have yelped. But her muteness remained so she leapt away from the intruder instead, turned to see who had crept up on her.

Amarant Coral smirked and crossed his arms, indulging Garnet's reaction. "You should watch your back," he lectured, with obvious pleasure.

The queen was surprised. How she not heard him approach? The plains were so vast. Surely she would have spotted him? She made a mental note to heed Amarant's advice in the future. She would never make it to Alexandria with such poor attentiveness.

"Far be it from me to give a crap," Amarant said, cutting into her thoughts, "but you're hardly in a state to be wandering around alone and unarmed."

Garnet mustered her most dismissive frown and Amarant ignored it.

"Where are you going?"

She pointed to the mountains and he understood her vague gesturing, which stunned her.

"Lemme guess. Alexandria. You want to see the crumbled remnants of your fallen kingdom." He chuckled darkly. "Not much left to see, so I've heard."

The girl stormed past him then, in no mood to pander his black humour. Surprisingly, he followed, and she turned to meet him with vexation.

Amarant seemed caught off guard for a moment. He crossed his arms and leaned back to contemplate her - or so she'd thought, but his hazel eyes were staring off at the mountainside beyond.

"You're such a simpleton."

Garnet placed irked hands on hips, demanding explanation from the ineloquent beast.

"You really think you'll make to Alexandria? You know how long it takes to get to Alexandria by foot? Do you know how many monsters there are out here?"

The girl's hands dropped to her thighs, eyebrows raised high on her head. What was he suggesting? That he actually _cared_ for her well-being? Surely not. Surely not the Flaming Amarant, of all people.

His gaze remained averted as he said: "Monkey-boy'll be chasin' his tail looking for you. Did you even think about how much the others will worry about you? You do things because you think they're justified, but they're just plain selfish. You're no different to every other monarchy in this world."

Garnet stared at the grass beneath her boots. He was right. Steiner… Zidane… Would they be so worried? Perhaps she should have left a note… Maybe she had and didn't remember? It was probably best to return to Lindblum…

But on the other hand…

Garnet turned to the mountainscape, torn between her heart and head. Why couldn't she think clearly? Why couldn't she act prudently for a change? If only she were stronger!

She was almost knocked of her feet as Amarant shoved past her then, his elbow colliding with her bicep. She stumbled and cursed at him, mouth working silently, but he didn't look back and continued to stride across the plain, grass parting before his form with all the flow of dry sand.

He didn't turn as he called: "Hurry up then, if you're coming."

Garnet gawped at his back. Was he seriously offering his services as guard? Surely not. It was a coincidence; he was returning to Alexandria for some personal reason.

Despite her disbelief, she tottered after him. The grass had been flattened by his heavy footfalls, making a handy path for her to walk, and knowing her health to be in strong (if not good) hands, she took the time to contemplate her surroundings.

The day was quite glorious, if a little overcast. The clouds were dense and white, smothering whole areas of blue like morning frost over grass. The breeze was laced with whiffs of the marshland and the temperature overly warm; the cries of monsters mingled with the _swish-swish_ of grass about Garnet and Amarant's knees.

They trekked in silence (Garnet being unable to speak and Amarant hardly talkative), and the redhead's weapon gleaned in the sharp sunlight. Eventually, Garnet's curiosity peaked and she skipped over the grass to join Amarant at his flank. She stared up at him curiously.

The bounty hunter did well to ignore her stare, but after a prolonged moment he sighed wearily and scrutinised the girl with a hazel eye.

"What are you lookin' at?"

Garnet frowned slightly, summoning an expression she hoped to be inquisitive and mildly concerned. She was about to mouth a question but the redhead disengaged his gaze, abruptly losing interest. She tapped him on the arm but he brushed her away with grunt and she fell back again, moodily walking the path he created.

Garnet had always found Amarant a difficult individual to befriend. His brusque, indifferent nature meant she never felt uncomfortable if left alone in his presence, but she rarely found a word to share. His aggression toward Zidane made her edgy, and his imposing, brooding presence intimidated her. In battle, he was merciless and brutal, his killing needlessly gory. She wondered if a person could really be so one-dimensional.

"Here."

The queen almost bumped into him. Amarant had stopped and turned, and was now holding something out to the girl. Garnet contemplated what was in his hand and thought it to be a hanky. The thought of the bounty hunter carrying round such a thing almost pulled a titter from her darkened soul, but when the absurdity of the suggestion truly settled she took a closer look and found it to be a scrap of crumpled parchment.

She looked up at Amarant. His expression remained unchanged: somewhere between irritation and impatience. He shook the paper in her face to brusquely indicate she take it. She was a little bemused, but so as not to cause offence, she received it with an air of great honour and cradled it as if it were the greatest gift ever bestowed upon her humble self.

Amarant's groan was inarguably exasperated. "For the love of gods, woman! Were you born without brains?"

He shook his other hand – the one Garnet had not noticed was outstretched – and she realised something else was clasped between his giant fingers. She took it hastily and held it aloft.

A stick of charcoal!

A stick of charcoal… and parchment?

"I'm not in the mood for guessing games," Amarant informed. "Write down whatever you want to say. And don't waste my time with crap. Don't know why someone didn't think of giving you a bloody pen in the first place."

And with that, he continued onward, leaving a very puzzled Garnet looking from charcoal to paper and back again.

After a moment she bent to the floor and began scribbling. However, without even turning, Amarant called: "Don't stop 'cause I wont wait for you. The brain's a muscle too, y'know; walk _and_ write."

Garnet hopped to her feet again and scurried onward, writing on the crumpled paper with great difficulty while stumbling over root and rock and grassy turf. Eventually, she managed a barely legible note (her scribe tutor would have been horrified), and returned to Amarant's side to wave the paper in a manner that was needlessly frantic.

He snatched it and squinted at the scribbling.

_'Why are you coming with me?'_

Amarant returned the paper to her. "Firstly, I'm not going anywhere with _you_. You're coming with _me_. Secondly, I'm not going to Alexandria. I'm going to Chocobo's Forest."

Garnet decided to ignore the patronising tones of his first reply, and focussed on the second. She wrote on the paper (tripped over a mound) and returned it to him.

_'Why?'_

"That's a stupid question. People go to Chocobo's Forest to ride chocobos, and that's exactly what you're gonna be doing. I aint goin' all the way to Alexandria to watch you flounce around the dead queen's grave. I actually have a life. I'm leaving you with Zidane's dumbass bird so you can find a way yourself."

Of course! Garnet recalled her day trip with Zidane on Choco, and how they were never attacked by monsters. It was a safe and easy way to travel. But would she be able to ride the giant bird without his help? Would it even let her?

Amarant's pace was difficult to match, so Garnet allowed herself to fall behind a way. She considered her comrade curiously. Why was he doing this for her? Were his reasons truly unselfish, or was heading in this direction anyway? True, if any of her other companions (save Quina) caught her wandering the plains of Lindblum alone they would usher her back behind castle walls in an instant. But Amarant had done quite the opposite. Surely if he cared for her well being he would have returned her to Lindblum? But doesn't escorting her to Chocobo's Forest count as caring, too?

What confusing friends she had attainted on her travels!

Yet, she was indebted to him. Even Zidane would not have listened to her request to return to Alexandria, and would have told her stay in the castle. In fact, he would have been angry to find her alone on the plains in the first place.

Then perhaps Amarant was helping her to spite Zidane? Maybe this was a chance to one-up him?

Garnet scribbled on the paper and handed it to the bounty hunter.

_'Why do you hate Zidane?'_

"Why do you care?"

_'I'm just curious.'_

"Curiosity killed the cat."

_'I'm not a cat.'_

"That's a damn shame."

She scribbled again. _'Why do you hate Zidane?'_

"Tch. You're a real pain in the ass. I don't understand why he likes you."

Garnet paused, then wrote again, taking care to make her letters legible.

_'Do you think he really likes me?'_

Amarant crumpled the paper and threw it over his shoulder.

Garnet followed the path of the paper dumbly, then scurried back to collect it, bemused and slightly irate. He gave her the paper and now he condones her for using it!? What on Gaia was his problem? Could she not ask questions now?

"I said don't ask me _stupid_ questions," Amarant snapped from up ahead, as if reading her thoughts. "I've got better things to do than give opinions on the love life of a horny monkey and a mopey princess."

She charged him from behind and went to thump him on the back. She hadn't meant it to hurt him at all (she doubted she could inflict pain on the giant man even if the intention was there) but he spun round and caught her fist, easily cupping her hand in his. He glared down at the little princess through narrowed eyes and his fingers were like vices.

"What's you're problem, girlie?"

She pouted and struggled weakly, then kicked him on the shin. It was like kicking a brick wall.

He laughed and tossed her wrist away. "Hit a sore spot?" But he didn't wait for a response, just turned and continued onward.

Defeated, Garnet followed, clutching her throbbing hand with the paper crumpled within.

After half an hour of silent walking, the mountains loomed to their left. Tendrils of mist lingered at the foot of these slopes, extending eerie fingers to the woodland on their right. They'd been attacked only twice, and Amarant had dealt with them swiftly; her magic was not needed here, and she was suddenly glad for his protection.

Eventually, the mountains edged away and the plains began to dominate yet again, severed this time by a wide river that opened to the sea, some miles to their right. They traversed the river's bank in search of the bridge. Here, the grass shortened to soft, muddy clumps and wild flowers flourished in colourful profusion. The clouds had greyed somewhat and Garnet wondered if it would rain.

"I knew this guy once, a long time ago." Amarant's voice cut through the muggy heat, deep and pensive as he rooted through some obscure memory. "He was an eccentric – and a murderer. He was… like me. A fighter. A hunter. A killer. He was a good fighter, too. He fought with his right hand, using a scythe. Brutal bastard, he was.

"Then one day, he met this woman. Can't remember her name, can't even remember if I met her… But to cut a long story short he fell head over heels for her."

Amarant had slowed his gait somewhat, and the queen managed to totter at his side. She clasped her hands behind her back, head down, quietly listening to his story.

He continued. "But see, she was one of 'em righteous rat-people. Real peaceful. Never lay a finger on a weapon of any kind, never spill a drop of blood, blah blah blah." He harrumphed. "Don't understand it myself, but there you go. Anyway, he swore he wouldn't hurt another soul again. Except killing was his life. Murdering makes you a murderer, and once you've had a taste for blood it's difficult to stop. So he went back into the hunting business and killed again. She got angry and he promised he'd stop." Amarant chuckled wryly. "But he didn't. It went on that way for a while: he with his false promises and she with her mercy and chances, until one day she had enough."

Garnet peered up at the man, wondering where his story was heading.

"The guy was devastated. He begged for her forgiveness, but she wouldn't be swayed. Not this time. He returned to her day after day, week after week, begging and pleading to be taken back. He swore and promised and vowed never to kill another living creature again. Swore it on every grave in Gaia, swore it on his life, even swore it on the gods' lives. But still, she didn't trust him.

"So, as eccentric, murdering, heartbroken men are, he decided to prove he'd turned over a new leaf.

"He cut off his right arm."

Garnet soundlessly gasped.

Amarant chuckled. "Yep. He severed his fighting arm, the arm that had killed hundreds. The goddamn fool nearly bled to death, but hell, it won him his woman. He proved to everyone that he was changed man." Amarant paused. "Sometimes people need to physically alter themselves to attest that they've been altered from within, not just for the people around them, but for themselves, as well."

The hunter fell silent and Garnet lagged behind a little, wallowing in the aftermath of his unsettling story. Why had he told her? Did it apply to her in some way?

She'd been put off by Amarant's blunt and nonchalant responses to her previous probing, but she was awfully curious about his opinion now, and decided to try her luck once again, so she brandished the charcoal with vigour.

_'Why don't you like being with people?'_

Amarant groaned. "Gods help me, woman, I'm going to throw that damn paper in the river."

She decided to return to an earlier question.

_'What do you want from Zidane?'_

"I want to know what makes him strong."

_'Have you found out?'_

This silenced him for a time, and he stared pensively at the scrawling on the paper. Garnet mulled over his unreadable expression.

Finally, he handed it back to her, but said nothing. The river curled and chattered beside them. Garnet could see long weeds waving in the current, and little black fish sheltering against the bank.

"What do _you_ think makes him strong?" Amarant asked.

Garnet considered this for a moment and wrote her reply carefully. She scribbled out several attempt before finally grasping the words to explain her thoughts.

'_Zidane is an entirely selfless person. He fights for the wrong reasons sometimes, because he is so impulsive and reckless, but his intentions are always good. He is strong because he doesn't fight for himself. He fights for others, he fights to protect, to save, to build. We give him reason. We give him strength. Alone, a person can never be strong. That's why he defeated you, I think.'_

Amarant sniffed disdainfully, but Garnet was sure he read the piece two or three times at least. He said nothing for a long while, and in that time they crossed the bridge and began to ascend a hill of gentle gradient, carpeted with lush grass fed by the stream below.

"I think you might be right," the redhead concluded at last. "Mostly, I think _you_ make him strong."

Garnet fiddled with her hair awkwardly, watching the grass slide by beneath her plodding feet.

"He's stronger now. Especially since you lost your voice. He obviously thinks you need protecting." He snorted. "Well, you do. You're hopeless, you know. Can't take care of yourself at all." The man stopped then and turned to her, face grim and thoughtful. "You know what? You need to get over it. You need to get your fucking act together."

Garnet gawped.

"Don't give me that look." He crossed his arms. "You need to stop messing around, start yapping and help us find Kuja. You're stuck in your own little world while we're doin' all the hard work. I thought you were meant to be a queen? Queens don't lose their voices and queens don't mope. Sure, you've been through some shit, but haven't we all? You think it's any easier for everyone else?" He paused. "You know why I walked you here today?"

She shook her head, a little hesitantly.

"'Cause you need some space. You got people cooing and pussy-footing around you like you're a fucking china doll ready to break. You can't be tellin' me that the future queen of Alexandria is nothing but a doll? If so, I'm damn grateful I don't live in your sorry excuse for a kingdom." He hawked and spat on the ground. "Go on, get your act together. For _his_ sake, at least. Can't bare to see that damn monkey snivelling around you like a bloody three-year-old with a grazed knee."

Suddenly, there was a familiar cry from behind, and Amarant leaned back to throw a disgusted glower over her shoulder. She turned and found Choco trotting toward them, beak clacking excitedly and intelligent eyes twinkling in what she fancied was recognition. She probably wasn't too far off either, because the crimson beast bumped her with its beak in a manner that was as affectionate as it was rowdy.

Amarant reached into his pocket and handed it a Gysahl Green.

"You know how to get to Alexandria?" he asked.

Garnet nodded.

"Right. Then don't get off this stinking rodent until you get there. Gods haven't been around lately so I doubt they'll watch your back."

He boosted her onto the back of Choco, who trilled excitedly and danced from foot to foot. Yet the activities of the bird went unheard as Amarant's words sang solemn notes in her head.

_(You're stuck in your own little world)_

_(I thought you were meant to be a queen)_

_(You can't be tellin' me that the future queen of Alexandria is nothing but a doll)_

He was right. She'd been lost within her own grief for so long she'd forgotten that others were suffering too. And they would continue to suffer until she gathered her senses and defeated Kuja once and for all. She must be strong to rebuild her kingdom, to rebuild countless shattered lives and a crumbled monarchy. It was time to start anew. Time to get her act together.

But still she must return to Alexandria. She felt she owed her mother an apology for her selfish actions, and a visit to her grave would clear her mind once and for all.

"You all set?" Amarant asked, staring doubtfully at the girl mounted upon the capricious chocobo.

Garnet smiled down at him and said: "Yes. Thanks, Amarant."

The redhead remained unmoved; not even the slightest flicker of surprise. He grunted, sniffed, then patted the chocobo's flank, sending it on its way.

* * *

Um… so… wtf, game? 'Oh, Dagger's gone missing'… 'Oh, here she is - in Alexandria.'

That's great. Really. But err… how the hell did she get there? How did no one notice she'd gone missing? How did she cross an entire continent safely with the whole 'Spell failed. Dagger cannot concentrate' thing going down? Seriously, man. Get it sorted.

Buuuutttt it gave me an excuse to throw Amarant around, hehehe. I always thought Garnet just needed a good slap, shake and: 'Get your act together, woman!' (I'm not the most sympathetic of people, if you couldn't tell). Gad, I fretted over keeping him IC sooo much. He's a very hard character to write for me, and I feared making him one-dimensional.

Also, I know I missed a huge chunk of the game out, but I honestly couldn't think of anything to write for those places, and I don't want this fic to become a chore (this chap isn't brilliant but cut me some slack, I'm finding my mojo again, okay?). I was meant to write a chapter for Oeilvert (as Myshu knows all too well) but I don't think it would've fit the feel of this fic. Maybe a future oneshot instead.

Also, life is pretty much back on track for me now, so thanks for your patience and kind words! (And sorry about long A/N!)


	16. Blondes, Brunettes and Behemoth

(Blondes, Brunettes and Behemoth)

"Damn it damn it _damn it_."

Garnet stared intently at the motionless water below, the bloodiest of Gaia's moons perfectly cradled beneath the dark surface. She wiped the smile off her face with purpose, and wondered if she should pretend not to have heard or offer her condolences – for the fifth time.

"Bloody cheaters. Damn snobby aristocrats with their stupid high power lousy cheap shots –"

She heard his angry stomps behind her, resolutely bid the smile remain hidden, and turned to greet him.

"- next time I'll take 'em all down and steal every lousy gil in their pansy silk pockets and then they'll be bloody sorry."

He ended his rant with a decisive snort and Garnet cleared her throat, hands clasped behind her back. His hand snapped up and she saw the wrathful scowl and pout combined, his tail whipping blonde not far behind.

"You were err… unsuccessful?" she tried with delicate precision.

He looked as embarrassed as he was angry then, and turned abruptly, crossing his arms and tilting his nose in a childish stance of protest.

"Noooo," he drawled, affected with doubt. Then, "Well, yes. B-but I was so close, Dagger, so damn _close_, if I'd just gotten that stupid Cerberus while I'd had the chance then – _bam_! That tournament would've been mine!"

"Are you going to try again?" she asked, unintentionally portraying her fervent hope that he didn't – for the sixth time – leave her standing outside the Card Stadium in the company of supercilious aristocrats and lecherous drunks.

He slumped his shoulders and glared at the building before sourly mumbling, "Can't. Got no cards left."

_Thank the gods._ "Oh, that's a shame. Shall we go then?"

Zidane huffed and bounced on his heels, clearly reluctant to admit defeat. In an attempt to deflate his rising temper (and dissuade any plans to re-enter the tournament), Garnet lightly suggested, "Well, when you get more cards you can come back and give them what for, right?"

The thief paused, then barked laughter to the still, Treno night and resolutely proclaimed, "You haven't seen the last of Zidane Tribal, bastards!" before marching away.

Garnet shook her head and jogged to match his furious pace.

The completion of the Hilda Garde III had rendered the party asunder in what to do and where to go. While Steiner was desperate to assess Alexandria, Eiko wished to check her moogles and Vivi wanted to visit the mages. Amarant remained indifferent, while Quina brusquely announced he was catching frogs whatever the decision, and Freya remained polite and compliant throughout.

Zidane wanted to enter the mini Card Tournament in Treno, and Garnet offered to accompany him. Freya made it clear she'd rather not return to the city, but when Steiner realised Garnet would be left alone in the thief's incapable hands, arguments threatened to rise all over again, so Freya primly agreed to act as bodyguard.

However, unlike Steiner, Freya recognised the princess' ability to mind her own, and after tolerating two of Zidane's failed attempts at Tetra Master, she politely took her leave after checking Garnet was fine to sit the stadium steps alone. The knight made her way to the auction house and the princess hadn't seen her since.

Garnet supposed she could have gone with anyone, but staying with Zidane seemed the lesser of the evils (for once), considering the chosen destinations of her compatriots. Alexandria and Madain Sari were still too painful to behold, she'd sworn never to step foot in a marsh again and the Black Mage Village exuded a certain sadness she was still reluctant to contemplate. Though hours of sitting on the Stadium's steps left her wondering if staying abroad the Hilda Garde with Amarant had been such a bad idea.

Swaggering ahead, Zidane had calmed down somewhat, and even though Garnet had no idea where they were headed she drank in the gothic architecture of the Treno with pleasure. To think how even the most terrible of events had created pockets of goodness and education. She'd always wanted to travel the world, see life outside the stone confines of her castle.

Her gaze returned to the path ahead and she suddenly noted Zidane's absence. She turned and found him not two steps behind, and judging by his startled reaction she assumed she'd caught him in the act of doing something uncivilized.

"What?" she snapped, expression and firm stance leaving no room for mischief or evasiveness. But Zidane wasn't interested anyway, for he candidly admitted, "I was looking at your neck."

Her hand shot to said body part, eyebrows drawn in a puzzled frown. "What? Why? Is there something…?"

Zidane shook his head and the sudden smirk hinted at something uncouth even before he explained, "No, no. It's just bare necks are so sexy. I'm glad you cut your hair. I can see the top of your spine and that little bit of your neck that makes me just wanna bite it."

Garnet's mouth hung open, speechless. She was embarrassed and angry at once, but more surprised than anything. To think the back and neck could be erotic to someone (though in all honestly, Zidane did seem to find everything erotic in some way) was completely novel to her. She sobered moodily though, annoyed that he'd found something lewd in a gesture she'd intended as momentous.

He grinned at her and she was about to throw him a blunt reprimand when his eyes were diverted elsewhere. A girl breezed Garnet by, and she immediately noted the curves badly concealed beneath a pale dress, and hair like honey tumbling to the small of her back. Zidane perked right up and forgot Garnet long enough to throw the blonde a wide, winning smile. The girl cocked a hip suggestively, drawing Zidane's eyes downward, and Garnet felt inexplicable rage and… and…

_I am _not_ jealous._

But she _was_ disbelieving. One minute he was complimenting her newfound exposure, eyeing up a random blonde the next. What was the matter with the boy? How could he be so darn adulterous?

Yet Garnet chose to hold her tongue (partly because her disbelief left her speechless) until Zidane actually turned his back on her to watch the blonde strut away.

"Z-Zidane!" she yelped, stung and angry and utterly rejected. "I… I'm talking to you!"

The boy turned back with raised eyebrows. "Eh? You were?"

"I… I…" Garnet's shock turned to outright anger and she turned to stomp away. "I can't _believe_ you!"

"H-hey!" Zidane hurried after her. "What? I didn't _do_ anything!"

"Yes you did! You were… were looking at that girl!"

Zidane tried to block her path but she deftly evaded his attempt and continued to rampage up a flight of stone steps.

"What? What's wrong with looking?" Zidane whined. "It's not like I went after her or anything and anyway, she's no where near as pretty as you are."

"Oh!" Garnet threw her hands in the air, mounting the final step and breeching a wide platform. "Oh, then that's alright. As long as she's not as _pretty_ as _me_ then it doesn't matter."

Wincing beneath her sarcastic, acid tone, "Why do you care anyway?"

Garnet stopped and pouted, letting Zidane catch up with her. "I don't. I don't care. Just forget about it."

Zidane shrugged and appeared to do just that. He looked round, suddenly noting where he was and Garnet mirrored the gesture. She spotted an old man, leaning heavily against a walking stick, and a moogle being chased by a yapping dog. There was a drunken cry from some shadowed alley nearby, and destitute children went charging through, stolen goods in hands and relieved laughter on their dirty faces.

As Zidane stared off at a looming building to their right, something she'd heard a Pluto Knight say some years back suddenly surfaced, and she asked, "So, you prefer blondes then?"

Zidane blinked and stared at her, rendered speechless by her boyish question. "What? Do I prefer…? Uh… That's… the weirdest thing you've ever asked me…"

"Fine! Don't answer then!" she snapped, feeling the beginnings of a blush heat her complexion.

Zidane scratched the back of his head. "Geez, what's wrong with you today? I don't care either way as long as they put ou…err… um…" He coughed. "No one's as pretty as you, Dagger."

"Stop saying that."

Zidane sighed, defeated. "Look, I'm going in here. Come with me, okay?"

Garnet said nothing but followed anyway, not wanting to be left alone again.

She was so intent on appearing in a huff that she failed to notice the thing beneath her feet until it released an aggressive snort. She near jumped from her skin in fright when she looked to the ground and found a cross hatch of iron bars separating herself from a giant monster below.

"Z-Zidane!" she yelled, but the boy swaggered across unperturbed. There was a woman on the other side, shielded behind a counter, and she greeted Zidane with a wry expression and: "You again? We've been through so many of these bloody beasts because of you."

Zidane thumped his chest and turned to Garnet. "I'm gonna fight that thing below," he announced. "I've had enough of losing for one day."

The princess, who had returned to solid stone, peered through the gaps in the iron doubtfully. The beast was resting in a corner, and Garnet realised with a jolt of horror that some madman had penned a real live Behemoth.

"Zidane, don't!" she cried instantly. "Look at what it is! A Behemoth! You'll never –"

"Ah, don't worry 'bout it. I'll be fine."

She stared at him. "You're not doing this to impress me, are you?"

Zidane grinned. "Me? Do something like that?"

"This isn't funny! You could die down there!"

"Nobody dies," the woman behind the counter drawled. "The beast is shot with tranquillisers before the challenger can be killed. He might get beaten up – he usually does – but there's never a chance of death."

"I don't _want_ anyone to get beaten up," Garnet implored. "Challenging such a beast by yourself is just stupid, Zidane. I mean, look at it!"

Even elevated above the pit, the princess could determine the enormity of the monster, all cutting muscle, grisly fangs and twisted horn. The pit wasn't particularly large either, not much room to dodge and leap, or perform complex attacks. A Behemoth was a vicious beast to overcome even in a large group; alone, there was little chance of victory.

"Don't do this," the girl pleaded once more. "I can't stand seeing you get hurt."

But Zidane was already shrugging off any commodities. His belt, his sheath, his waistcoat. He unbuckled Rune Tooth from its holder and tested it on air. The blades sang. Zidane said, "I'll be fine."

So there was no stopping him, then. Garnet lingered at the edge of the caged pit, still reluctant to cross the bars, and chewed on a fingernail.

"Are you ready?" the woman said.

"As I'll ever be," Zidane replied.

He walked to the centre and the woman pulled a lever. The bars gave way like a giant trap door and down the thief fell.

Garnet was on her hands and knees almost immediately as the Behemoth roused itself from slumber. Zidane remained crouched, tail skimming the stone floor as if searching for a place to hide. Rune Tooth was poised upon one shoulder; Zidane's expression was fierce and fearless.

The Behemoth was on its feet now, 900 pounds of brute and beast. It barked warnings at the intruder; its tail like a tree trunk, hitting the wall and fracturing chunks of stone. Zidane remained unmoved even as Garnet stuffed her fist in her mouth to stop the scream and the beast took great strides to attack.

Strange, Zidane was first to deliver a blow. The Behemoth lunged with open jaws (showing not two but four rows of ridged teeth like a shark) and went to tear a chunk from Zidane's shoulder. The boy dodged and rolled to the side, angling Rune Tooth upward so the blade arched with him, tearing through purple fur and thick flesh. Dark blood splattered patterns on the stone and turned the thief's blonde tail a sticky mess of matted fur.

The Behemoth roared and Zidane misjudged the beast's pain tolerance. He went to take advantage of his first hit even as the monster swung the opposite direction. For a bizarre moment Garnet thought the Behemoth was fleeing, then the giant tail struck Zidane and he went flying into a wall with such force the stone became a cobweb of fissures. He was motionless for an excruciating two seconds before coughing and getting to his feet, hand briefly skimming what Garnet would wager to be at least three cracked ribs.

Yet he was offered no respite. Angered beyond all hope, the Behemoth, who had spent the seconds summoning some beastly aura, sent Zidane back to the ground with a Thundaga. The boy's clothes smoked and his weapon nearly danced out of twitching fingers, but he wasn't amateur enough for such a schoolboy error and besides, the Behemoth was already charging again, horns lowered to impale.

Zidane turned, leapt three steps up the wall and used the momentum to flip him out the way. Unable to stop its own impetus, the Behemoth rammed the wall, horns scraping stone and making sparks jump and leap like remnants of a Thundaga. It shook its head and snorted and Zidane used those precious seconds to deliver another blow to its flank. He sunk the blade too deep and the sturdy muscle delayed his escape long enough for the Behemoth to catch him on the side with its left horn. Zidane yelled and leapt back two spaces, feeling cold wall against his back and the familiar pain of a broken bone tearing up his right arm.

"Shit," he muttered, unable to find a potion as the Behemoth was already summoning another Thundaga, the aura heady in the small space. He ran to its side in a sacrificial attempt to severe the Behemoth's spell and it worked; the beast was caught between casting and defending and was forced to choose the latter, its horns lunging, deflecting Zidane blade and using the opening to sink fangs into the boy's broken arm.

Zidane snarled, reversed his blade with the other arm and ran its length across the Behemoth's vulnerable throat. It was enough to evoke a thunderous roar and release from the bite, though the blow lacked power and instant death. Blood arched across the floor in gruesome rainbows, both from beast and thief, and the latter finally wondered if he was maybe just a little bit over his head.

The princess, watching from the rafters and feeling as if she'd suffered enough heart attacks to last a lifetime, finally leapt to her feet and called across the pit: "Hey! Stop this! Shoot that thing full of tranquillisers – uh…"

The counter across the pit was empty.

_Calm down. Calm down. She must be further along._

"Hello! Hello over there we need help!"

No reply. Garnet listened above the noise of battle and heard the sound of the woman coming not from the counter opposite but from behind the doors Garnet had entered through. What was she doing outside?

The princess turned on her heel to dash and fetch the infuriating shopkeeper, but when the Behemoth howled she returned to the edge of battling pit instead, stomach and heart high in her throat.

Zidane was bleeding not just from his broken arm but head too, blonde hair clumped against his forehead. His breathing was laboured and he was hunched toward the floor, Rune Tooth slack in his grip. To his credit, the Behemoth seemed tired too; the floor beneath its heaving floor smeared with gore. However, unlike humans, when a beast as powerful as a Behemoth was near death, they fought with every fevered, rampant, primitive ounce of strength they possessed, increasing their efforts instead of slowing.

As that thought shouted warning in her head, the beast charged the weary thief and this time he failed to dodge it completely. He managed a half-arsed twirl before the horns caught his ribs again, and he was flung against the wall like a broken toy, unconscious before he crumpled to the floor.

Garnet leapt to her feet, flung head first into making a decision which Zidane's life rested upon. Her mind was a frantic swirl even as the beast went forward to assess its kill: get the people, Leviathan, call for _help, summon, jump in, call for help, call Zidane, wake him up, Bahamut, gods I don't know no time I –_

Her feet had left the ground before she finalised a decision. The bars shot up around her and then the floor was a dizzying impact, shaking her legs and thighs and ribs like an electric shock. She remembered thinking that and one more thing as the beast turned to her face her: _I don't have a weapon._

Its eyes were burning coals. The kind that are banked beneath ashes, but when turned with a stick they show a fiery underside, flecked with red and gold and black. Its teeth were slick with blood. Its fur was matted with it. Its breath was tinged with it.

There was numb fear, and then there was Zidane insentient on the floor, her hands grasping thin air where a weapon should have been and was not, and then, as the Behemoth decided the newcomer was quarry, a power she hadn't experienced for so long entering her veins.

It was like dropping a stone in a puddle. The sudden movement caused a ripple that started in a tight circle, then spread and spread until the whole puddle was alive with movement.

Accept there was no water with Garnet. Only golden power like dripping honey or light spilling through an open window or crystallized sap against dark oak. It filled her completely and she closed her eyes and gasped at the power, the exhilaration, the feeling of suffocating warmth and sudden breathlessness.

Garnet Tranced.

When she opened her eyes the world was tainted in white-gold. It radiated from her purple skin and her hair, now a vibrant shade of blonde, catching light as cobweb-silver one moment, then subtle topaz the next. There was power ebbing at her fingertips and she blinked and blinked at the Behemoth, now suddenly insignificant beneath her unearthly energy.

She listened, and heard the whispers of other beings, her Eidolons, begging to be released, begging the aid, invigorated by her Trance. She called him, the Eidolon she had feared for so long.

Bahamut, King of Dragons.

He did not come in person, perhaps sensing the space too tiny to fill his tremendous bulk, but Garnet saw his Flame engulf the Behemoth in dancing, scorching colour. The beast's roar was terrible and tragic, its already tired body shuddering in pain, and still another of Bahamut's attacks hit, wiping its soul from the face Gaia in smouldering flame. It fell to the bloodied stone in a whining, smoking heap.

There's something unexplainably peaceful and anticlimactic about the silence after battle. The air is heavy with blood and sweat, and it cups traces of magic; they spark and send pulses along the skin, like a wraith brushing against bared limbs.

Garnet, used to battle by now (though none came close to this), considered the silence only briefly before running to Zidane's side. He was spreadeagled on the floor, Rune Tooth some distance away, with blood running from agape mouth, head and arm. She probed him with her magic and went about finding the cracks in his ribs and arm. Her Trance, receding now but not gone entirely, lent her ability strength as she mended the fissures in bone and tissue and revitalised his burnt energy.

He awoke after a moment and coughed blood all over Garnet's blouse. She brushed hair from his blood-slick forehead and his eyes struggled to focus.

"D-Da… gger…?"

"Yes, you idiot. It's me."

"No…" He reached up a trembling hand and ran fingers through her hair. She frowned at him, unable to pull away as she continued to mend his ribs with her magic.

"Blonde," he stated blandly, and just before he passed out: "I… get the best of… both worlds…"

…

When the woman from earlier returned to the bowels of the shop she was greeted by a smoking corpse, a furious girl, and a boy who was leaning heavily against her, dried blood caked so thickly it was like a he was breaking free of some grotesque cocoon.

"Tranquillisers, indeed," Garnet fumed. "All that for nothing."

The woman peered with mild curiosity at the dead Behemoth below, then raised an eyebrow at the girl standing proud and angry beside the beaten boy.

"Did you kill the Behemoth?" she asked.

"After a fashion, yes."

"Oh. Then, here you go." The woman rummaged through a chest nearby and handed Garnet an item. "This is your reward for defeating the monster."

Zidane suddenly perked up. "Wh-what!? Hey now that's not fair!"

Garnet stashed her prize away and scoffed with a superior grin: "Now, who was the one that was an unconscious mess about to be killed before I intervened?

"Not fair…" Zidane grumbled miserably, still resigned to leaning heavily against Garnet (and even though it effected his masculinity, he hardly minded).

"Stop whining," she snapped. "This is all your fault. If you weren't such a show off…"

"Am not…"

They exited the weapon shop as they spoke and even as Garnet began furiously reprimanding all over again, they bumped into Freya, whose look went from shocked to downright disappointed. She said, "Can't leave you for a minute, can I? What happened?"

"Please… don't ask…" Zidane moaned, and Garnet decided to save him the humiliation just this once.

* * *

I remember trying to take on that Behemoth… :shakes head: And see, I could've made some comments about Garnet's Trance outfit, but I didn't, and I'm sad. Lol. Maybe a future chapter…

Oh, one thing I wanted to say. I was on DA the other day and I watched this video where someone said Zidane's name. Okay, so, just because it irritated me, his name isn't pronounced 'Zeye-dain'. It's 'Zee-dan'. Like, Zinedine Zidane, the infamous football (soccer) player. If you don't believe me, go look it up on wiki. FF was bad for mispronunciation until they got voice actors (lord knows I was pronouncing Tifa like tie-fa and Yuffie like yuf-ee for years) but when I hear 'Zeye-dain' it makes me want to vomit. So there you go.

Thanks for reading!


	17. Green

(Green)

She was roused from her study by a raucous expletive. It could have been near or far, she did not know; Daguerreo's cavernous chambers of carved stone were excellent at throwing echoes and distorting noise; the constant drip-drip of water from countless funnels only added to the distortion. But the distance was of no consequence, it was the owner of the voice that quirked her interest, so she respectfully placed the book she'd picked up into a slot on the bookshelf and ambled with half-purpose to where she assumed the curse had come.

Daguerreo fascinated her. It had done since she was child, though back then it was a place she'd visited only through the words of the Alexandrian librarians. Their whimsical descriptions of a water wonderland, home to some of the oldest books on Gaia, had her longing for adventure beyond the castle's confines. It had befuddled her some, for water and books generally didn't mix (woe betide anyone who dared bring a flagon of wine or water into the library back home), so as soon as Zidane indifferently remarked that the peculiar building off larboard side of the Hilda Garde was none other than infamous Daguerreo, Garnet begged to pay a visit. He'd been adverse at first ('why would I wanna go to a wet library?') until Freya remarked it held some of the most advanced smith works in the world. They landed five minutes later, Garnet shrugging off Zidane's cryptic comment of 'I can go visit Chocobo's Lagoon later' with a resigned sigh.

And didn't Daguerreo just live up to her dreams! Serpent gargoyles spurting water from mouths lined with needle teeth, the floor a cold stream that soaked one to the ankles (and deeper in some places). Gallery upon gallery of books, all genres and ages, some so old the writing was illegible and only the highest of scholars could look upon their depilated pages. The atmosphere was intense, excited, brimming with education waiting to be dished like a hot meal.

So when Zidane had moaned about being 'bored' and how the water was 'making his feet swell up like bloated fish', Garnet gently scolded him, told him to respect this place of learning. There was no malice or pompous behind her tentative lecture, but he went off in a huff anyway and she hadn't seen him since. Steiner's comment of 'uneducated monkey' hadn't gone down too well, either.

Zidane wasn't an angry individual – not by a long shot – and even when a bad mood descended he could shrug it off faster than a cloak on a blustery day. However, his bad moods, no matter how fleeting, were partnered with explosive temper tantrums or overacted brooding, and judging by his earlier animosity and the explosive expletive she'd just heard, Garnet vouched Zidane's mood was all but sweet.

She followed the sound of his voice, unclear and distorted from the echoes, until she reached the lip of the walkway she'd traversed (thankfully free from the carpet of water) and peered over the edge. Down below, Zidane was fervently arguing with a four-armed redhead, and by the looks of things his temper was about to get the better of him.

Garnet descended the ladder with a defeated sigh, wondering why she was sticking her nose into his business at all. She concluded it would be rather embarrassing to be associated with someone who'd been kicked out of the notorious Daguerreo, no matter how fond she was of that someone. Starting brawls in a place of learning simply wouldn't do.

She jumped down and landed in a pool of water that splashed about her knees. The alcove was tiny and lined with books and – oh! – some were lying face down on the surface, like drowned birds. How did these books keep in such damp, unfavourable conditions? It seemed the scholars were as passionate as they were negligent.

"What's the matter?" Garnet asked, approaching Zidane and the man while unashamedly cutting into their argument. She fixed Zidane with a warning stare that he chose to ignore.

"Nothing!" he half shouted in her face. "I'm dealing with it!"

"So I heard," the princess replied tartly. "What is it?"

"Well I –"

But the man cut him off with: "He comes chargin' in here all high and mighty and starts tellin' me about all the treasure he's stolen, right? So I found out his Treasure Rank and he's only – "

"Now look here –"

" – a Rank E." The man's stifled laughter had Zidane looking like he was about to punch his nose clean off.

"W-well, are you sure he is?" Garnet questioned, not having a clue what 'Treasure Rank' was exactly. "You could be wrong."

The man scowled. "I'm never wrong."

"Listen here buddy," Zidane growled, "I've been around the frickin' world and back and – "He took a menacing step forward, clearly aggravated by this man's dismissal of his thieving skills, so Garnet quickly intervened with a hand and: "He is _very_ good. I've seen him. He's been through every treasure chest in every major city, not to mention scouring precious jewels on beaches and elsewhere. I truly believe you've misjudged him."

Zidane blinked stupidly at Garnet for a moment, and in an instant his furious temper vanished like a burst bubble. He grinned, the man's arrogance forgotten, his eyes seeing nothing but the princess.

She sighed, glad his temper had quelled, but the man huffed and said, "Still never wrong. There's still loadsa teasure layin' around…"

Zidane's head snapped back with a vengeance, but before he could begin his tirade again, a fourth voice cut through the chamber with startling clarity, despite the steady melody of water.

"'Faithful friends are gifts from heaven: Whoever finds one has found a treasure.'"

They all three turned to the speaker, and a gentleman of obvious noblity approached them from an arched entry, his smile turning cold reflections into something warmer. He added, directed at Zidane, "And it seems you've already found one. A lady who involves herself with arguments – and to stick up for one so! – must be a true friend indeed."

Garnet took a step forward and bowed, recognising where the gesture was required. The man returned it with graceful ease, and the princess said, "Meredith, is it not? One of my favourite quotes from 'The Art of Sorrow'."

"You're familiar with his work?"

"I've watched his plays since I was a child. Though I wasn't overly fond of his poetry. It was too commonplace for my liking."

"I agree," the stranger remarked with a passionate step forward. "Though he drew well from experience, it seemed. He lived a somewhat tragic life."

"Died at forty-three, by his own sword?"

"Quite. Terrible, really. He was a master of his era."

"A true loss."

They fell into an awkward yet not unpleasant silence, and before Garnet could strike up conversation again Zidane brusquely said, "Who the hell are you?"

"Z-Zidane!" she cried, embarrassed (perhaps for the first time) by his inappropriate eloquence. "You can't –"

But the man laughed. He was perhaps twenty years Garnet's senior, yet she found the lines that sprung about his eyes somewhat endearing; the swirl of chestnut hair and fine stubble actually quite attractive.

"Nevermind," the man dismissed with an easy wave. "It is I who should be reprimanded for not making introductions. My name is Verilon Uther, of Treno's third rank nobility."

A noble, Garnet thought, and curtsied as appropriate. "Gar – um… Dagger," she said lamely, knowing it unwise to use her full name and surprised she almost let slip. "Of Alexandria."

Uther blinked. "What an unusual name. And you, sir?"

"Zidane. Fourth rank nobility of Lindblum," his voice dripping sarcasm that made Garnet wince (not to mention Lindblum didn't possess a fourth rank of nobility). He offered no hand to shake, no customary bow, just glared unjustified daggers at the good sir from Treno.

Garnet cleared her throat, embarrassed by his behaviour.

"Tell me, Lady Dagger, what playwrights do you favour?" Uther inquired, choosing to ignore Zidane's blatant displeasure. "It seems we have analogous opinions and it would be nice to exchange conversation with someone who doesn't rant and obsess over superfluous detail." He threw a wry look toward the nearby scholars. "People can be so uptight."

"Yeah, I can think of a few," Zidane shot back, eyeing the noble pointedly.

Uther frowned at him, more confused than disapproving, and Garnet quickly recovered the situation by surprising both herself and Zidane. She gently took Uther's arm and steered him away to the bookshelf, making the (very truthful) excuse that she knew not where the fiction section of library was located. Uther politely agreed to show her, taking her arm with graceful, courteous ease, and began to lead Garnet through the archway. The princess turned long enough to scowl at Zidane and mouth 'What's wrong with you?', before disappearing round a corner.

The room opened out to a cavernous gallery speckled with gargoyles, its centrepiece the sinuous statue of a serpent, Leviathan. Here, Garnet passed Freya by, and the dragon knight managed to swallow her bemused stare long enough to tip her helm at the stranger on Garnet's arm. Not two seconds later, she turned to watch a furious Zidane stomp puddles in the water, and a tiny smile quirked her lips.

"Whatever's the matter, Zidane?" she asked lightly as the thief ceased his stomping and started huffing and heaving like a faulty aircab engine.

"Nothing!" he roared. "Why?"

He was clearly upset, nearly tinged green with jealousy, but Freya simply couldn't pass the opportunity to tease him. He was so easy to wind up, sometimes.

"Oh, it's nothing really," she began with exaggerated indifference. "I just noticed that rather handsome man on Garnet's arm. I must admit… I'm quite smitten."

Zidane gawped at her. "Wh-what?"

Freya turned to where the man had disappeared with the princess, feigning longing and shifting a little, as if swooning. "Didn't you think so? Garnet's so lucky to be associated with such an individ-"

"B-but what about Frately!?"

"Oh, I'd give up Frately for _him_ any day."

No more was needed; Zidane charged after Garnet and Uther, and Freya stifled a playful titter behind her paw.

Nestled in the crook of a watery labyrinth, Garnet found the fiction section with Uther's aid, and tenderly ran a finger across the weathered spines. Daguerreo's collection rivalled even Alexandria's, she realised with quiet excitement. Here, the original manuscript of 'Days Long Past', there a finely scribed edition of 'Lover's Don't Die'. If only she had time to read them all!

Uther plucked a slender volume from the rack and fell head first into a critique as passionate as it was thorough. Garnet listened with growing eagerness, realising how her time away had left her love of plays and novels dusty like the forgotten books of Daguerreo. She delighted in his opinions, lost within his fluent dissections of her favourite writings, so much so, that when Zidane finally found them he saw nothing but her large, enamoured eyes and enrapt expression and felt green fire dance beneath his feet, totally misreading the situation.

He launched himself across the watery carpet, barely managing to stop short of Garnet, and loudly remarked, "Why, my beloved _wife_, I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Garnet commended Uther's polite (and slightly confused) smile as the tousled thief threw an amorous arm around the princess' shoulder and positively smirked at the noble.

Garnet abruptly pushed him away and hissed, "Stop Zidane, what's the matter with –"

"But I've been looking for you, love! You just left and –"

"Don't!" She swatted another arm away, feeling her face heat under the prospect of humiliating herself in front of Uther.

Zidane went to expand his claims, when the sound of metal scraping metal and splashing water announced the arrival of another unwanted guest, and no sooner had Garnet cursed her misfortune that Steiner rounded a corner, drawn no doubt to Zidane's volume and the princess' angry cries.

The knight approached with a shaking fist and thunderous expression, immediately berating, "She is not _your_ wife, you blasted monkey!"

"Well, she's not your either!" Zidane shot back lamely.

"I'm no one's wife, for goodness sake!"

"There's a contract in Conde Petie that says otherwise, my love."

"There was no contract!" Steiner boomed. "I checked myself! Your marriage was nothing but an heathen ceremony in a land whose laws hold no weight in the Mist –"

"It doesn't mean the marriage didn't happen, so technically she's still my wife."

"Stop it, you two! I'm _no_ _one's_ wife!"

Uther cleared his throat then, looking as awkward as he doubtlessly felt, yet the polite smile hadn't wavered from his lips. He said, "I seem to have interrupted some ah… marital disagreement. I… must be on my way, if you don't mind."

"No, we don't mind at all," Zidane grasped the opportunity without delay. "Please don't let us stop you."

Garnet elbowed him but addressed Uther, "I'm so sorry for the… inconvenience. We must meet again in this place to continue our discussion."

"I would like that very much," Uther said with a wide smile.

Then, much to Zidane's horror (and Steiner's to some extent), Garnet offered the gentlemen her hand and Uther kissed the air above it, as is courtly custom. He left then, the cloak of awkwardness he'd worn gone like thawed ice.

And just to salt the wound, Garnet breathlessly announced, "I'd almost forgotten what it was like to interact with a gentlemen."

"H-hey!" the thief yelled. "That's not nice. I… I can be a gentlemen too!"

Steiner snorted. "You can be nothing but an insignificant, flea-bitten sewer rat. Though her Majesty shouldn't be gallivanting with strangers in such a foreign environment either…"

Garnet rolled her eyes. "You've both gotten the wrong idea. Can't I even make a friend without being hounded by critics? We might as well go back to the Hilda Garde now, I'm not in the mood to read."

Steiner slouched, quietened by the scolding, and while Zidane didn't protest departing, he trundled after the princess with hands in pockets and a very defeated expression.

Outside the library, where the grand stones of Daguerreo made breathtaking architecture in the face of a vast cliff, and waterfalls twice the height of Alexandria Castle bellowed noise somewhere below, Zidane caught up with Garnet and moodily said, "You're not actually going to meet him again, are you?"

The princess sighed, a little irritated. "Maybe. What's it to you?"

"Nothin'…"

She sent him a sidelong glance. "You're not _jealous_, are you?"

"What's it to you?"

"Nothing!"

"I just… don't like guys lookin' at you like… _that_."

She blinked. "But you look at me –"

"Yeah, yeah. But it's different with _me_."

"Is it now?"

He rolled his shoulders, suddenly awkward. "Forget it."

"You could always come along too, you know. I thought you liked plays."

"I like _acting_ – Wait, you mean you wouldn't mind me being there?"

"Of course not! Why would I?"

"I just… I just thought that… you and him… That you were all like…"

She smiled. "You're so silly, Zidane. You know he isn't my type."

Zidane let himself drag behind then, and spent the whole airship journey trying to decipher the meaning behind her airy words.

* * *

This chapter was largely inspired by a lovely little oneshot called 'Avon's Blessing', by Birisu. Go read it. After you review… ;P (And before anyone points it out: yeah the 'nobility ranking' was bullshit concocted by moi).


	18. Ineffective Cures

(Ineffective Cures)

It was one of the funniest things she'd ever seen, which was sad in a way, because it really wasn't _that_ funny. On anybody else it wouldn't have been even slightly amusing, but on him it became something hilarious. Maybe because he was trying so hard to maintain macho even while his condition made him anything _but_. Or maybe it was because he'd spent the first fifteen minutes desperately trying to hide it (which was uproarious to behold) before miserably admitting defeat.

At any rate, the urge to laugh was becoming more overwhelming with every passing minute. Or should she say, with ever passing hiccup?

This thought prompted an undignified snort, which she covered with a mock cough, but Zidane caught it nonetheless and glared fiercely in her direction. And a glare from Zidane was pretty intimidating– except when it was rounded off by a very loud hiccup.

Garnet stared at the ground, willing the smile off her features with all the might she could muster, which was little when Zidane's hiccups pierced the silence. Her face was twisting into terrible expressions, and Zidane's glare hadn't wavered an inch.

"Something – _huc_ – funny?" he snapped, irritation a buzzing hornet in his tone.

_Oh gods, just say it. Just say you think it's the funniest thing you've ever seen._ _At least you'll get the laugh out of your system!_ "No. Nothing at all," she assured instead, but her voice wavered terribly and she bit down on her lip so hard she almost pierced right through the skin.

Zidane grunted (hiccupped) then returned his gaze to the flickering campfire.

He'd been plagued by the hiccups for a whole twenty minutes and his patience was obviously wearing thin. At first, Freya had lightly chided, 'That's what you get for eating too fast' and when they didn't go away she said, 'Oh, have a drink of water, for goodness' sake' and when that didn't work she simply gave up. Then, after ten minutes, Steiner tersely suggested he 'go sit somewhere else' because his hiccups were becoming 'highly intolerable' and Zidane responded: 'It's not my fu-_uc_-cking fault I've got… I've got… hiccups!"

That in itself was pretty funny, but what almost sent Garnet flying into hysterics was his tail. Every time he hiccupped it reflexively fluffed up and ticked, as if startled by the unexpected noise. After noticing this adorable anomaly Garnet promptly excused herself to the tent where she released her pent up giggles into a pillow. That worked for a while, but she really couldn't keep hopping in and out of her tent lest her companions think her mad, so now she was forced to merely sit and endure, furiously gnawing three fingers in an attempt to restrain herself that little bit longer. Zidane was already worked up; she really didn't want to fuel his anger. Garnet knew the thief abhorred being laughed at, and if she dared laugh at his less-than-manly plight now he'd be positively furious. She didn't want to do that to him.

_…hic…_

_…hic…_

_…hic…_

"G-gosh, Zidane," Vivi piped up, "your hiccups sure are bad, aren't they? I don't think I've ever had hiccups as bad as… as… what?" Zidane was glaring daggers at the mage, who had unwittingly made a jab at his masculinity. "S-sorry!" was all Vivi could muster and he stared abashedly at his hands.

"Now, Zidane, don't take your frustration out on Vivi," Freya berated sternly, though there was an unmasked smile in her voice. "Try holding your breath."

The blonde considered this for a moment, then put both hands on his knees. He leaned back and inhaled deeply, chest and cheeks puffing outward. Garnet stared as his complexion turned an unsightly shade of red and his eyes narrowed into glittery slits.

Thirty seconds…

Fifty seconds…

Seventy seconds…

All eyes were on Zidane and just as Garnet thought it had worked –

'Herr – cu -UP"

- he hiccupped the loudest hiccup Garnet had ever heard. And if the odd noise wasn't enough to drive her over the edge, Zidane deflated like a popped balloon and his tail fluffed out like a yan's coat. Zidane looked hilariously shocked, eyes wide and blinking stupidly, and his face retained its pinkish hue as a blush kept his cheeks aflame.

"Oh, _woooww_. That must've been the biggest loudest hiccup in the world _ever_," Vivi squeaked.

And Garnet simply couldn't keep it in anymore. She clamped a hand over her mouth in an attempt to muffle the sound, but her laughter rang loud and clear across the campsite. And once she started nothing could stop her - not even Zidane's deathly glare and thrashing tail or Steiner's disapproving look, and she sank her head into her hands and leaned toward the ground, body wracked with laughter, tears springing to her eyes until she was caught between the peculiar act of laughing and crying.

On the other side of the fire, Freya daintily pressed a finger to her lips and chuckled. A light chuckle at first, but it quickly evolved into tinkling laughter. Then Eiko and Vivi exchanged a glance and that set them off, and if Garnet's laugh was infectious than the laughter of the children was positively contagious and Steiner's raucous chortling joined the ranks alongside Amarant's badly-concealed grunts and Quina's playful tittering not a moment later.

"Oh! Oh!" Zidane began, sting evident in his tone. "So that's how it is, is it? Everyone have a good laugh at Zidane because I'm sure none of you have ever had hic – cu – UPS!" He clamped a hand over his mouth and the camp fell apart at the seams with laughter again. It roared across the night sky, tearing the silence – and Zidane's masculinity – to pieces, with the _ka-tang, ka-tang, ka-tang_ of Steiner slapping his armoured thigh increasing the ruckus tenfold.

"Well, fine! You… you… bastards!" Zidane yelled above the din. "I'm go – _ic_ - ing! Don't bother coming af – _huc_ – ter me!"

And he strode briskly away into the darkness.

…

It took a whole ten minutes for the laughter subside, descending from outright bawling to subdued giggling to sporadic sniggering. Only when it had completely dissipated and the remaining campers were basking in the content and pleasant silence that follows laughter did Garnet begin to feel the slight prickle of guilt.

"I wonder where he went…?" she asked nobody in particular as she stared into the darkness beyond their campfire.

"He's fine," Steiner dismissed tersely. "That arrogant rapscallion deserves to have his ego deflated a notch of two…"

"He's not arrogant," Garnet protested. "And it's dangerous out there at night. He didn't take a weapon..."

"His loss is our gain," Amarant grunted and Eiko thumped him on the knee.

"Dagger's right, though," Freya sighed, rising from the circle. "I'll go look for him."

"I'll come with you," Garnet volunteered but Steiner shook his head and said: "No, you wont. It's dangerous, Princess. Freya can handle the dark alone."

Garnet scowled and thought of arguing but the Dragon Knight was already leaving, spear in hand, so she settled back down and contemplated the flickering flames instead.

Not five minutes had passed when Freya returned, a wry smile quirking her lips. "He's fine," she said. "Sulking, but fine. He didn't go far. Said he didn't want to talk to me."

"Is he so very angry?" Garnet asked with concern.

Freya shrugged. "Oh, you know how he gets. He'll be fine in the morning. Let him have his little sulk."

But Garnet was already rising.

"Princess, where are you going?" her bodyguard barked immediately. "You're not –"

"I'm going to see Zidane and apologise," she informed, looking pointedly at Steiner. "Freya says he isn't far so I'm sure I'll be fine. If I get into trouble I'll call."

Steiner looked like he was about to object so she departed quickly, the comforting circle of light abruptly receding as the darkness swallowed her whole.

"Zidane!" she called, wrapping her arms about herself as the chill set in. "Zidane, where are you?"

Her footfalls was muted against the grass. The moons were choked in cloud, pale faces staring between ribbons of smoke. The troupe were camped within a grassy canyon, and while the jagged cliffs were beautiful during daylight, at night they were indistinct smears looming either side like cloaked bandits waiting to pounce.

She continued warily and just as she was beginning to wonder about Freya's definition of 'far' a little noise blossomed into audibility.

…_hic_…

She couldn't restrain a smile, but thankfully her giggles were spent, and she advanced toward the familiar noise until she spotted a humped shadow up ahead.

"Zidane. Zidane…?"

"Go away," the humped shadow replied.

"Oh, now, don't be like that." Garnet stood before him and the humped shadow's features morphed into a disgruntled visage and skittering tail. She sat down and patted his knee. "There, there."

"Stop patronising me."

"Stop acting like a child then!"

"Me? You're the one that fi – _ic_ – nds hiccups funny!"

"Only on you."

"Oh great. Thanks. That makes me feel so much better."

Garnet huffed. "Really, Zidane, stop this nonsense and come back to camp. You're going to get yourself hurt."

He hiccupped miserably. "Not until my hi – _ic_ – ups have gone."

"Um… try holding your breath?" she joked but the glare he sent her was so fierce she immediately regretted the attempt and took up a serious note instead. "Well, how else do we get rid of hiccups? You've tried the water and holding your breath and… what else is there?"

"Now you're really patroni – _ic_ – sing me…"

"I'm not! I can't very well let you stay out here by yourself, can I? So you better help me think of a way to get rid of your hiccups."

Zidane rested his chin on his palm and squinted off into the darkness, thinking, his body occasionally jerking alongside a hiccup.

"I heard a teaspoon of honey works," Garnet offered. "Do we have any?"

"No."

"Oh…" She thought for a moment more. "Hm… I can think of a few food ones… like sucking on a lemon or a piece of ice, but I guess we don't have those things either…"

"We could ask – _ic_ – Vivi to make us some ice using his magic!" Zidane suggested, brightening up.

"Yes, alrighty then I'll – " She stopped, another idea dawning. "I'll go and get him. Wait here a second."

Both teenagers rose to their feet and Garnet disappeared into the darkness as Zidane stood facing one of the broad cliff faces, bouncing on his heels and hiccupping anxiously.

But the princess didn't return to camp. She watched Zidane from afar and after she'd made sure his attention was fully diverted she walked a wide semi-circle around his form, creeping through the darkness and minding her step. When she was facing his turned back she quietly removed her shoes, placed them on the ground and began creeping forward, helpless to apprehend a crafty grin.

Twenty foot…

He still hadn't noticed, preoccupied by his hiccups.

Fifteen foot…

Her approach was silent, her socks nothing more than soft falls against the grassy turf.

Ten foot…

So close!

And at five foot she made a mad dash, bawling a ridiculous: "Raaarr!!" as she nipped the sensitive spots on his sides with her fingers.

Zidane screamed an embarrassingly high note, and instead of leaping away and spinning round like she'd expected his hands snatched at her right arm, pulled it over his shoulder, slammed her weight hard against his back and then the ground became sky and the sky became ground and –

"Oompf!"

A ripping pain tore through her arm and back as Garnet blinked up at the night sky, wondering if it really was sky she seeing or the dark blanket of unconsciousness. Then Zidane's horrified face bloomed into view and realisation gradually dawned.

"Oh gods, Dagger, I'm so sorry! I thought you were a monster! A-are you okay? Alright? Anything broken?"

Garnet opened her mouth but suddenly it was hard to breath. The air refused to fill her lungs and she grabbed at Zidane, panicking.

"Hey, it's okay, you've just winded yourself. Calm down. Take deep breaths."

But it was easier said than done and it took a good few minutes before breathing came naturally again.

Eventually, she sat up and arched her back, hearing an ominous crack.

"Ooh, that's going to hurt later," she remarked as she flexed the arm he'd nearly tugged from the socket.

Zidane knelt beside her. "I'm sorry! I thought you were a monster attacking me from behind. I flipped you over my shoulder." He frowned. "Though I must be getting rusty 'cause that move was meant to dislocate your arm. Is it okay?"

She rolled her shoulder and although it ached something fierce she smiled wanly and said: "I think it's fine. I'll cast a cure later just to make sure."

"Thank the gods. Why the hell were you sneaking up on me anyway?"

Garnet grinned sheepishly. "The best remedy for hiccups is a sudden fright. I wanted to scare you."

Zidane scratched the back of his head. "Geez, my senses are gettin' duller than Sir Rust-A-Lot's armour. I guess your plan kinda back-fired, huh?"

"Not entirely." She needlessly gestured. "Your hiccups are gone."

The thief relapsed into silence as he evaluated her claim, and after a few hiccup-less moments he sprang to his feet and danced a ridiculous jig while yelling, "See ya later you goddamn bastards, man I hate hiccups, gods don't let me ever get them again!" He abruptly stopped dancing and stared down at the princess. "Although… if it means getting tackled by you…"

She got to her feet and winced as pain shot down her spine. "Keep praying. I'm never trying that again. We better head back to camp. Oh! I almost forgot my shoes..."

"Your shoes…? You took your shoes off to sneak up on me?"

"Mmm."

"Huh." He blinked. "You and me really would make a good bandit team, you know…"

"Weellll…" She pretended to consider the offer. "I _would_ but… I think you'd hold me back. What with all the hiccups… no one would take us seriously!"

"Don't make me flip you again, woman."

When they re-entered the camp their companions immediately noted Zidane's improved persona and his ailment's absence. The princess reclaimed her place by the fire, massaging her throbbing shoulder.

"I'm glad you're not mad anymore, Zidane," Vivi said as the blonde hunkered down beside the princess. "I'm sorry if I made you angry…"

The thief waved a hand and snorted. "Forget about it. It's my bad."

"So, how did you get rid of them?" Freya asked, genuinely curious.

He granted the knight a crafty wink and said: "Secret."

Freya glanced in Garnet's direction, who happened to have her back turned to retrieve a water flask, and her eyes narrowed shrewdly. When Garnet twisted back she met the expression with innocent wariness. "Is something the matter?"

"Your remedy for hiccups," the knight said, "doesn't have anything to do with the grass stains on your back, does it?"

Zidane stuck his stuck tongue between his teeth, eyes glittering mischievously. It took Garnet a moment longer to interpret her suggestion and when she did her face turned redder than Ifrit's mane. She was so flabbergast the words of protest failed to emerge and by the time they had the damage was already done.

In the end, Zidane had to sleep outside the camp anyway. He was left with little choice after Steiner gathered his wits and gave chase. Though the remaining campers received little sleep themselves because the night was torn asunder by Eiko's whines of: "Will someone please explain to me what happened? What was the remedy? I don't get it! Wake up and teelll meeee! I don't understand! What about the grass stains? Ziiddd_aannnee_!!"

* * *

:shakes head: Random. Random. Random :throws fluff around madly: This wasn't even meant to be part of Brick By Brick! But I threw it in anyway. I'll probably regret it in a few days lol, especially considering it really has nothing to do with anything! Oh well. Review?


	19. Skin Deep Cold

A/N: I'd like to put on a play for you quickly. Here goes:

Me: [typing on laptop]

Dad: [enters room] ZOMG OUR WIRELESS SYSTEM ISN'T SECURE! PEOPLE CAN SEE WHAT WE'RE DOING ONLINE! I MUST FIX THIS! [disappears towards main computer]

Me: [ominous pause] Nothing good can come of this…

_fifteen minutes later-_

[laptop loses internet connection]

Me: [blinks stupidly at screen] Daaaaadddd? What did you do? I can't get onto the internet!

Dad: Huh. That's weird. Oh well. At least the main computer's secure now.

Me: BUT I CAN'T GET ONLINE.

Dad: [shrugs] You'll live.

I _won't_ live, people. Srsly. The point of the play? Chapters will be few and far between until dad fixes the internet connection. In the meantime, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

(skin deep cold)

"Why do these things always happen when you're around?"

"'Cause I go lookin' for adventure!"

"…You call this an adventure?"

"What is it then?"

"A disaster."

"How is it –"

"Zidane… I… I'm frightened…"

…

It was quite beautiful really, so much so that she suddenly regretted initially rebuking his silly idea. It almost seemed to be a habit now; his impulsive proposals always struck the chord that had been finely tuned in her tutelage days: don't do stupid things. And it _had_ seemed so stupid at first, gallivanting across a desert made not of sand and heat and bruised rock, but ice and snow and not much else.

"Why not?" was his immediate response, confident smirk barely smothering the genuine confusion in his eyes.

"Because…" she'd started, then had to think because every time he spurted some reckless plan it was pure instinct to say: no. So she quickly looked for her excuse. "_Because_. Because it's… cold."

Zidane snorted. "… That's it?"

"Cold can be a deadly foe," Freya intercepted, "if you don't go out prepared…"

"I'll wear a jacket," was his response.

"Don't you remember the Ice Cavern, Zidane? We passed out and nearly froze to death!"

"Naw, that was 'cause of the Waltz thingy."

"Yes, I know that. But out there… it's much colder than the Ice Cavern. If we don't make it back by nightfall…"

"We should be on our way to Shimmering Island right now…" Eiko sighed despondently.

"It's just a quick detour," Zidane reconciled. "I'm just gonna have a look around."

Garnet smacked a palm against the glass window. "You can look from here! There's nothing out there but insuperable terrain!"

"You don't _know_ that," Zidane responded matter-of-factly. "I wont be long."

"Nearly nightfall," Amarant rumbled broodingly. "As soon as the sun goes down the temperature will plummet." He paused. "Take your time."

"Well, fine." Zidane shrugged on a jacket stolen from gods' only knew where. "I'm going."

"I better come," Freya piped up. "Someone needs to take care of you."

"There are a lot of monsters. You might get injured," Garnet added. "I'll come along too."

Zidane slid up alongside her, grin widening. "Worried about me?"

"I was talking to Freya, actually."

"Oh."

"I shall accompany the princess, lest the insufferable baboon provokes danger," vigilant bodyguard volunteered.

"I guess _you_ weren't talking to Freya." Zidane sighed. "Well, now I've got a bloody entourage, we better get going before it gets dark. More the merrier, I guess."

So Garnet had set out with considerable trepidation, wrapped in a fur coat temporarily borrowed (Zidane had assured) from one of the locals of Esto Gaza. She wished for a day when a simple re-stock would be just that, instead of becoming some sort of misadventure. Unfortunately, Zidane had a habit of making even the simplest of excursions an escapade. She just prayed he'd find nothing but boredom in the barren landscape and turn back for a good night's rest.

Wishful thinking.

Snow was a wonderful thing, in Garnet's opinion. Alexandria had a tepid climate so it was prone to snow on occasion, but it never lingered long and rarely mounted to such depth. The scenery here was breathtaking, albeit unchanging; an endless expanse of glitter and white. The sea was a frosty line behind them, along with Esto Gaza, which was nestled in the crook of a mountainscape touched by Shiva's hand. It was toward this ominous terrain that they were heading, and as they fell into the mountains' shadow Garnet distinctly felt the temperature drop another few degrees.

"Where are you going, Zidane?" Steiner called, obviously weary of trudging through snow and ice.

Zidane shrugged, not bothering to turn. "To have a look around."

"What could he possibly think to discover in this kind of environment?" Garnet wondered aloud to Freya, whose long legs sliced easy lines through the snow.

"Oh, Zidane gets something out of everything," she replied simply. "I suppose he's just adventurous."

"I do wonder if 'adventurous' is the word, sometimes."

There were a few monsters. Fish-like creatures similar to those they'd encountered back in Fossil Roo, except these were of a slightly different nature. Their flat bodies allowed them to be unseen until the troupe was practically upon them. They'd rise from of the snow to reveal their down turned mouths rimmed with jagged teeth and start bombarding the travellers with icy-cold magic that burnt the skin despite its element, and added insult to their already injured temperatures.

After much walking, they came to the foot of a mountain and Zidane led them to the right, further from Esto Gaza. The air was crisp and clear and Garnet marvelled at the jagged mountain looming to their left, dizzying if she tried to discern the distant top capped in mist.

"Hey, hey, look at this!" Zidane bellowed up ahead. He gestured excitedly. "I found a cave!"

Hardly elated by the prospect of a cave, the trio caught up and studied the unexplainable gulf in the mountainside with disinterest.

"I wonder what's inside… Maybe there's treasure? Boss told me pirates hid their treasure all over the world in places they thought no one would look. We should go inside and check it out."

"Ice Cavern part two, anyone?" Garnet replied sardonically. "Really, Zidane. I doubt there's anything in there…"

He sighed, exasperated. "But you don't _know_ that, and not knowing's half the fun!"

"It's probably a monster's den," Freya informed him tiredly, "preying on idiots like you who wander too close to its hunting grounds. If it's inside –"

"Then we'll kick its ass! C'mon, 'fore it gets dark!"

Garnet turned briefly to study the sky, pale lavender trimmed with an orange ribbon where it kissed the sea. They had a few hours of daylight yet. If the cave wasn't large they should be back at Esto Gaza come nightfall.

Despite her consternation, the cave wasn't at all like the Ice Cavern. It wasn't even part of the mountain rock, but sculpted instead from the snow that was heavily compact around the peak's base. This cave was just a scoop out of its wall; entirely austere and vacant of any defining features such as walkways and plants.

However, it was bloody cold.

"Can we go back now?" Garnet whined. "I'm freezing to death!"

Zidane sighed. "Goddammit. Can we at least go to the back?"

"If the princess says she is cold then we must retreat to somewhere of more favourable climate. We have more important things to do than baby-sit you while you embark on meaningless quests," Steiner rebuked.

"Put a sock in it, Rusty. I'll only be a few more minutes."

Freya sighed and lingered near the opening, leaning on her spear with an impassive expression. Steiner huffed and turned his back to the group, hands clasped at the base of his spine, resolute to remain aloof.

Zidane crept further along the passage, the icy walls illuminating the way in fluorescent hues. Garnet sighed and followed him.

"What are you even looking for?"

"Treasure!" he chirped. "Caves always have treasure."

"That's the silliest thing I've ever heard."

"Hey! Me and Choco find treasure in caves all the time! And once, me and Blank went exploring outside of Lindblum and there was this cave full of stolen jewellery. I guess the thieves thought they'd hide them there but they didn't count on their stolen goods getting stolen again! We sold them for a lot of money and boss was really pleased 'cause we said we stole them."

"Sounds like you were just being lazy."

"Phhfft. Whatever."

The passage narrowed and darkened then, unsurprisingly, came to a dead end. Zidane patted its surface as if it might hold some device capable of unlocking further mysteries, maybe even his treasure. But there was no such thing, just white and wall and absolute cold.

"Happy now?" Garnet asked, unable to keep the impatience from her tone. "Can't you leave the treasure hunting to Choco?"

"I didn't ask you to come," he retorted. "And you got to see another continent properly right? I mean, it's all well and good travelling the world in an airship. But if you don't do stuff like this you haven't really _seen_ the place, haven't really got a feel for it. Now you can say you know what the Lost Continent is like. You can say you've _seen_ it."

She cocked her head, ran a gloved hand along a furrow in the wall. "Is that why you do these things, Zidane? To get a feel of the world?"

He stared toward the exit, past the silhouettes of angry Steiner and Freya, and shrugged indifferently. "I guess. I just… Sometimes I feel like –"

His words were severed by a sudden tremor; deep rooted yet everywhere at once. Garnet stumbled only slightly and pressed her hand against the icy walls.

"What the –" was as far as Zidane got before another tremor hit and this time the cave positively shook though Garnet wondered if it was her eyes shaking in their sockets because – _oh gods –_

The tremor became a tremendous noise and the ground shook and shook until she really did lose her footing, stumbling like a drunk and slumping against the wall, gasping in terror. Zidane barely remained upright, went to dash to the exit, remembered Garnet and went back for her grabbing her hand and tugging her upward but the tremor was reverberating and suddenly there was no light -

"Shit!"

His voice didn't echo and Garnet suddenly realised what happened.

"We're trapped!" the thief confirmed her fears, and struck his fist against the newly formed wall of snow and ice, which now blocked their previous exit/entrance with its blank bulk.

"No…" The princess got to her feet and ran her fingers along the wall. "No!"

"PRINCESS!"

"Steiner, I'm in here!"

Steiner's voice was faintly muffled behind the avalanche of snow, which was reason enough for him to bellow at the top of his lungs. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

"Yes, yes, we're fine! Help us!"

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE, I SHALL SAVE YOU!"

"Stay where we are? Sheesh, as if we have a choice!" Zidane took a few steps back and slumped against the wall.

There was another tremor, gentler this time, though the pair stiffened and stared fretfully at the ceiling. If there was another violent quake they could be buried alive!

"What _was_ that?"

Zidane shrugged. "Probably a volcano. Esto Gaza is surrounded by them, and not all of them are dead, like Mount Gulug."

"There was an eruption!?"

"No. Tremors like these can happen years before a volcano is due to erupt."

"Well, that's one thing at least." Garnet paused to listen to the sound of Freya and Steiner conversing on the other side.

"PRINCESS!"

"Yes?"

"WE'RE GOING TO FETCH MASTER VIVI! IT WOULD TAKE TOO LONG TO DIG YOU OUT!"

"Y-you're leaving us here?"

"Don't worry, princess," Freya called. "If we run back to Esto Gaza we should return within the hour."

"What if there's another tremor and we're buried!?"

"… We'll be back as fast as we can! Behave yourself, Zidane."

"S-Steiner!"

"DO NOT FEAR, YOUR MAJESTY! I SHALL NOT LET YOU DOWN!"

"Freya! Steiner! …Freya?"

"They're gone," Zidane remarked, sliding to the ground. "Oh well. I didn't find my treasure…"

Garnet whirled on him. "Is that all you care about!? Look what's happened! We're trapped now all because you wanted to go gallivanting about a treacherous cave. Why do these things always happen when you're around?"

"'Cause I go lookin' for adventure!"

"…You call this an adventure?"

"What is it then?"

"A disaster."

"How is it –"

"Zidane…" She paused, staring round at the tiny chamber. "I… I'm frightened…"

The thief ran a hand through his hair, leaving flakes of snow in his gold locks. "Aw, don't be frightened, okay? I'm sorry. I didn't know this would happen."

Garnet mirrored his stance and slid to the ground, bringing her knees to her chest. The temperature was dropping by the minute; she'd been shivering when she'd entered the cave but now it seemed almost like a series of convulsions. She was dreadfully thankful for the fur coat.

She studied her environment. The space wasn't so cramped as to prevent them from moving, but it was claustrophobic; a rough square perhaps ten by ten feet. It seemed that only part of the ceiling had come down during the tremor and hadn't compacted all the way to the top. If she strained her neck she could see a gulf from where the snow had fallen. It wasn't solid at the top, and it let in little pockets of light the size of eggs. She thought of digging, but deemed it too hazardous. She wouldn't want to tempt anymore collapse.

How long would they be, she wondered. It had taken them at least an hour to reach the mountainside. If Freya and Steiner ran all the way back they would make it in perhaps half an hour… another half – no Vivi wouldn't be able to run all that way – so make it forty-five minutes, plus the time it would take to melt the snow-wall…

It could have been worse, but it was absolutely freezing and nightfall was threateningly close. People couldn't freeze to death in the space of a few hours, could they? Her toes, fingers, cheeks and nose were numb from their trek across the snowfields and no matter how vigorously she rubbed and wriggled them they refused to warm.

"Let's sit back to back," she suggested. "Maybe we can get warm that way."

"I'm not that cold," Zidane proclaimed, though he was shivering as madly as she. A slate of light fell across his features and she could see his breath pluming in a vibrant cloud. He crawled across the space and sat down in its centre. "But I'm not turning down a hug."

"And I'm not offering," Garnet snipped, crossing the space and settling with her back pressed against his.

"Hmph. Well, if we freeze to death I want to be in the most raunchy position possible, so Rusty will have a heart attack when he finally finds us."

"…That's not funny."

They sat in silence for a while. A silence Garnet had never experienced before. The snow blocked every noise of the outside world, not even the brisk, biting wind could be heard howling round the heights of the mountainside. She listened to him breathing and the occasional _tha-rump_ of snow tumbling from the ceiling and hitting the floor, and a peculiar feathery sweeping. She was about to question the lattermost source when she spotted it herself: Zidane's tail dusting across the snowy turf. The light was faint, but she could see its tip was frosted in snow, and snagged in its underside were balls of ice, like burrs from woodland undergrowth. For some unfathomable reason, it struck her as highly amusing and she snickered.

"What?"

"You've got little balls of ice stuck to your tail. See?" Acting on innocent impulse, she grabbed the end of his furry appendage and pulled loose one of the tiny wads of compacted snow, along with a few strands of fur.

"Ee-y_ee_p!" came the womanly yelp. "Wh-what the hell – sweet Ramuh don't frickin' _do_ that!"

"Don't be a baby, Zidane." She plucked another and another then brushed the frosted layer away with a brusque stoke. "They're all stuck in your fur, see?"

"Ah – _ah_! Quit it – don't –_STOP_!"

He snatched his tail away and grasped it with both hands, like a greedy child shielding its toy from another. "_Don't do that_!"

"But there were all these little ice balls hanging off the bottom like baubles – " She suddenly snickered again, which manifested into a childish giggle. "It was all – heehee – covered in snow and – ehaha!"

"_Don't laugh_!" he bellowed. "What's so funny about it? Stop laughing! What the hell's wrong with you? You hit your head or something?"

Garnet clasped a hand over her mouth and waved the other apologetically. "S-sorry! I just… I just find it so funny!"

"Geez. How would you like it if I started pulling your hair, huh?"

She sobered. "Really, I'm sorry. I guess I didn't think about it like that. Forgive me, okay?"

"Hmph."

"If you didn't let it drag in the snow…"

"I don't care. FYI, Dagger: snow _melts_."

"I was only trying to help…"

They sat in silence again, slightly uncomfortable this time. His tail had done well to distract her from the cold, but now there was nothing to do again she found herself shivering like a leaf in strong wind. Zidane was having a similar reaction; she felt him shuddering against her back.

Suddenly, he grabbed her hand. Fingers entwined with hers and she felt his other hand brush the back of her glove.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"Oh, well, you've got snow on your glove so I was just taking it upon myself to brush it off for you."

"Zidane… That's not funny, give me back –"

"No, it's not funny, is it?"

"Goodness, I said I was sorry! Why are you so mad?"

He let go, threw his hands in the air and let out an exasperated grunt. "Because! Because… oh I don't know."

"This… isn't about me brushing your tail… is it?"

Zidane sighed and leaned back against her. She was still painfully cold but his body heat was gradually seeping through the fur coat.

"When I was a kid… I learnt that your origins and your home are very different. Like… you're from Maidain Sari… but you consider Alexandria your home, right?"

"Yes. I suppose I do."

"Well, I consider Lindblum my home. Tantalus – they're my family." He paused. "But… I know there's no one like me there. I've never discovered my origins, where I came from, who I am. _What_ I am…"

"Zidane…"

"That's… that's why I got into exploring places like this, I guess. Boss had us travelling a lot, and I took any chance I could to explore every nook and cranny of all the towns, cities and villages we visited. I thought… maybe there'd be a place on the Lost Continent where I could find people like me. Even if they were just drawings on a cave wall, even if they were all dead and I was the last of my kind… at least I'd _know_."

"Not knowing is half the fun," Garnet joked lamely, and got a half-heartedly snort in return.

"Not in this case," he replied after a moment.

Garnet stared at the ceiling, head brushing the back of Zidane's neck. Her whole face had gone numb. "You'll find them one day. I mean… they have to be somewhere on Gaia, right? Don't… feel sad about it."

"I'm not sad! More frustrated than anything…"

Acting on another unfathomable impulse, Garnet found his hand and took it in her own.

"Errm…"

"Got snow on the back of your hand."

"Oh…"

"And I can't feel my fingers anymore."

"Yeah. You know what?"

"What?"

"I can't feel the end of my tail, either."

"Hehehe, - ah, ah WAH DON'T!" she screeched as his tail snaked up the back of her fur coat and came to rest against her spine. Despite his fur and the protective covering of her overalls, it was freezing cold and damp, making her arch away from him.

"Z-Zidane!"

"Hey! I'll warm your fingers up if you warm my tail up!"

"B-but it's so c-cold!"

"Exactly."

After a few moments of uncomfortable wriggling the cold became tolerable, but she did feel a little violated. It was still a limb, almost like he had his hand pressed against her back.

"I don't know why I put up with you, Zidane."

"'Cause you looovvvee me."

"Oh, be quiet. Why do these things always happen to you and me? Why don't you get into these kinds of situations with… with _Freya_ or someone?"

"Weell… funny story…"

"What?"

"Ah, nevermind. Best to save that for another day." He paused for a moment, then added in a whimsical tone, "If only there were lamias on the Lost Continent…"

They sat in silence for the better part of half an hour, lamenting their frozen appendages. There were more tremors, which sent small flurries of snow crashing to the floor, and though it was nothing close to life threatening Garnet squeezed her eyes shut and gripped Zidane's hand unintentionally hard.

After what seemed like hours of waiting, there was a commotion outside the blockage. Zidane and Garnet would have leapt to their feet if not for their near-frozen limbs, so they stiffly staggered upward instead. Without the body warmth the cold seemed insufferable, and regardless of her morals she clung to Zidane who clung right back, any trace of lewdness erased as his teeth chattered in her ear.

"PRINCESS?"

"Dear gods, I'm here! Hurry up and get us out!"

"I'm freezing my nuts off!"

"Stand back!" Freya commanded. "Vivi's going to cast a fire spell!"

Still shaking uncontrollably and clinging to each other like moss to a tree, the pair pressed their backs against the wall and braced themselves not just for the possible impact with Vivi's magic, but for the possibility said spell would result in another collapse of the cave. They discerned a hissing sound and smelt something like copper – the traces of magic in the air – then the wall in front of them began to melt, flames licking the edges of a steadily growing hole.

Three seconds later and Vivi poked his head though the newly made tunnel.

"H-hello?"

"Vivi!" Garnet cried, dropping to her knees and planting a grateful kiss on the little boy's cheek. "Thank the gods! I thought I was going to freeze… I think I _am_ half frozen!"

"PRINCESS!"

"You don't need to shout anymore, Steiner, I'm right here." Garnet wormed her way through the tunnel and out the other side. She'd hoped to see daylight, even expected some warmth, but it was night now and colder than it was inside their burrow. Nonetheless, it was fantastic to be free of the confines.

"Quickly, Princess, we must return to Esto Gaza before the frostbite truly takes hold." Freya shucked another coat over her shoulders. "We'll put some ointment on your limbs and have you warmed up in no time."

"I volunteer applying the lotion!" Zidane piped up, taking a second coat from Vivi and receiving a deathly glare from Steiner.

"This is all your fault," was all Freya had to say, putting a steadying arm round the shivering princess' shoulder. "You can bloody well pay for the inn tonight."

"What!? Why aren't we staying in the Hilda Garde?"

"Because Dagger needs lots of heat," Vivi told him wisely.

"What about me?" Zidane whined.

"I suppose you too," Freya acquiesced. "Let's get moving."

They made their way back to Esto Gaza, Zidane and Garnet taking the rear as they struggled to rekindle the warmth in their frozen limbs.

Trudging behind, Garnet couldn't help but spy the fresh build up of snow on the tip of Zidane's tail, and though it was terribly inappropriate, she leaned forward and gave it a flick, scattering the pile to the ground, and smiled broadly when he didn't notice.

* * *

Okay, okay, so there was a hint of 'Fur Beneath Her Fingertips' in this chap, but hell, I can't resist toying with Zidane's tail ehehe. This chapter was kind of a 'relationship building' chapter – coz love is made up of little (albeit slightly eccentric) moments like these.

Does anyone else know what I mean by those little balls of ice? My dogs always get them stuck on their bellies and tails when they've been walking through snow.

(Heads up to Myshu and Practical Medicine. Ah, if only there WAS a lamia in this chapter… Zidane could've warmed Garnet up a different way :wink: )


	20. The Talk

(the talk)

Garnet paused on the threshold of the basin. She curled her toes over the edge, hands clamped firmly against the towel swaddling her skin. She wasn't naked, oh no, she couldn't do something like that in front of people like these – it would be far too undignified. Luckily for Garnet, the inn provided bathing suits that hung off the body in shapeless squares of tarp. Apparently, it meant the inn was 'cheap' and 'low class', but if it meant keeping her dignity in tact she couldn't have cared less.

"Daaggerr, hurry up! You need to tell me _all_ about it!"

Garnet watched wisps of steam dance into the frigid air. Their rented shack, lit from the inside by candles cradled within paper lanterns, spilt colour onto the water below, icing silky black with shades of gold. Up above, the moons were glowing with gentle persistence, not a cloud to shield their pale faces or the grand arch of stars.

"Oh no you don't! You can't pull that 'I'm ignoring you' trick with me again."

Before dealing with the (very importunate) matter at hand, Garnet slipped off the towel and lowered herself into the hot spring. It was deliciously warm – no, perhaps a little below boiling, to be more precise. She wondered if she would cook like a potato if she stayed too long. Perhaps that's why Quina was eyeing the bathers so fervently from the sidelines?

Garnet tittered and folded the towel before placing it daintily atop her head like she'd seen the others bathers do. There were quite a few at this time of night, though the vast hot spring was hardly packed. They kept to themselves, mellowed by the heat. Steiner and Freya both expressed their opinions of sharing a hot spring with members of the opposite sex, but Zidane had so little money they were forced to make do with the cheaper, public option. Besides, it wasn't compulsory to bathe, but Garnet simply couldn't turn down soaking in a nice, steaming bath – especially after being trapped in a cave of ice for two hours.

It was funny really, that such a religious site could house an equally as revelled tourist attraction. Esto Gaza was the hub of a spiritual religion based around their next destination, Shimmering Island. People came from all over the world seeking guidance, inner peace and even transcendental cures. However, it was also the epicentre of a string of active, dead and dormant volcanoes, including Mount Gulug. It was one of these volcanic mountains that offered Esto Gaza a steady income. While many visited the main temple, an equal number came for the complex of hot springs dotted up and down the mountainside, such as the one they currently occupied.

Considering the breath taking scenery and heady spring, Garnet had been looking forward to a relaxing evening. Unfortunately, one of her compatriots was determined to thwart her plans.

"Daggerr… Are you ignoring me?"

Garnet, who had closed her eyes to drink in the spiralling heat, opened one with a teasing smirk. "What would you do if I said yes?"

Eiko Carol splashed her with the boiling water. "I'd do that. And then I'd scream and scream until you _had_ to listen to me."

"I guess I don't have a choice then," Garnet sighed with an air of exaggerated defeat.

"Good!" Eiko paddled up to the lounging princess and hissed in a mock whisper, "Sooo… what did you and Zidane do while you were trapped in that cave?"

"What?"

"Don't spare the details just 'cause I'm little! I know everything about where babies come from - the moogles told me, you know - so you can't expect me to believe that you didn't do anything in there."

Garnet felt her complexion turn a shade redder. "E-Eiko! I don't think little girls… um… _ladies_ should be… should be speaking of things like… that."

Eiko stood on the bottom of the hot spring, her broad smile barely concealing the dash of jealous resentment. "So you _did_ do something! I _knew_ it!"

Garnet stared wildly round the hot spring, waving her hands to make Eiko hush. "No no no! We didn't! Please stop shouting, it's terribly embarrassing."  
"What's there to be embarrassed about if you didn't do anything, hmmm?"

"This _subject_ is embarrassing! And I can't believe you think we'd… do something like that. I mean, we're not even together, Eiko!"

"Who says?"

"Well… I say."

"Don't you love him?"

"Ramuh help me, not this again."

"Did you really think I'd let it go that easily? No one walks away from Eiko Carol!"

"Evidently not. How about swimming away?" Garnet took the cue to leave, slipping past Eiko's defences toward the other side of the hot spring.

"H-hey! Come back! Don't make me splash you! D-Dagger! Right, you asked for it!"

Garnet turned, which was quite the wrong thing to do as she was greeted with a face full of boiling water. She blinked and gasped, but Eiko's onslaught didn't diminish and she yelped, turning to get away and countering with several, pathetic attempts of her own. Eiko squealed and Garnet squealed and it all melted into girlish giggling and very wet hair.

"Hey, where's the party at and why aren't I invited?"

Garnet ended her assail, wincing as Eiko snuck in the finishing splash, and looked up to find Zidane leaning over the pair on the lip of the basin.

"You're pissing people off," he pointed out, cocking an indifferent thumb toward the other occupants of the hot spring, who were indeed gracing the girls with disapproving looks. Garnet smiled apologetically, and even though Eiko acknowledged their scorn with a tilted nose, her attention soon returned to Zidane.

"Hey Zidane! Are you coming in?"

"Well, I don't walk around wearing white potato sacks for fun," he said, gesturing to the male bathing suit with a grimace. "Not very flattering, right? Budge up."

"You can sit next to me," Eiko offered (tone suggesting no opportunity to refuse). "We were just talking about you."

Garnet scowled meaningfully at her. _Gods, don't let her bring up _that_ subject in front of Zidane…_

"Oh really? Hehehe. Hardly surprising. All the girls talk about Zidane," the thief proclaimed as he hopped into the spring.

"Oh really?" Garnet challenged with a raised eyebrow. "Must be about your ability to get them stuck in ice caves for hours on end…"

"Or my dashing good looks."

"Or your childish sense of humour."

"Or my suave charm."

"Or your lack of manners."

"Or my very large – "

"Aright, stop now."

Eiko waded up to Zidane and with a sharp, petulant tone she demanded, "What did you do in that cave with Dagger?"

Zidane blinked, genuinely bemused if not by the suddenness of the question then by whether the suggestion behind it was as salacious as his one-track mind deemed it to be. "Ur… We played cards?"

Eiko's mouth opened and shut like a fish gulping for air, expression flitting between bewildered and cross. In the end, she haltingly inquired, "Is… is that slang for… making babies?"

Zidane was silent for a whole two seconds before doubling over and braying with laughter. His laugh could be terribly loud, especially during a genuine fit like this, and Garnet shushed him assiduously upon noticing the downright furious expressions of their fellow bathers. Eiko was much more crude, smacking his shoulder and bellowing: "Stop laughing, you oaf! Morrison only told me _how_ to make babies – not all your stupid slang words!"

"Eiko please be quiet," Garnet implored, glancing at the scowling bathers. "Zidane, stop it… Please! Everyone's looking…"

Zidane stopped laughing to scoff, waving a hand dismissively. "So what? I don't care."

Eiko waded in front of the pair, giving them suspicious stares through narrowed eyes. "So you really didn't do anything?"

It was one thing being questioned in private, quite another being questioned in front of Zidane. Garnet wished the spring would swallow her whole. "Eiko… please go inside now. You shouldn't stay in the hot spring too long - it's too hot. You might pass out."

Eiko smacked her palms against the surface. "Don't tell me what to do! Why wont anyone give me a straight answer?"

"We didn't," Zidane said, expression stern. "And don't go round telling people we did 'cause it's not nice."

Subdued by Zidane's tone, Eiko backed off a bit, looking almost bashful beneath his gentle scolding. "I haven't been telling people! I just wanted to know."

"Well now you do. And things like that aren't really anyone's business, so you can't just go round asking, okay?"

"But you tell people about your –"

"That's different."

"How?"

"Geez, it just is! Go bother Amarant."

"H-how rude!" Eiko yelped, jumping up and down and splashing the pair with water. "I don't 'bother'! No one thinks I bother – "

Unfortunately, Amarant happened to be passing by on his way to the inn, and Eiko honed in on the bounty hunter like Quina onto leftovers.

"Amarant!" she yelled (and the redhead picked up his pace a touch). "Amarant, am I a bother? Amarant? Amaaraantt! Wait! Hey don't ignore me!" She was climbing from the spring as she spoke, oversized bathing suit sopping around her ankles. She bounced after him with all her furious zeal, and for a moment, despite her profound love for the little girl, Garnet felt a little sorry for Amarant. She chuckled.

"Well… now we're alone…"

Zidane draped an arm over her shoulder and wriggled his eyebrows in what she guessed he thought was an enticing manner. She ducked out of his grip and pushed him away, half smiling and half annoyed. "Don't you ever quit?"

"Nope. Never. Not until I get what I want."

"What _do_ you want?"

He blinked, nonplussed, and as was his character when put on the spot, he answered with humour. "Why, everything! The trees, the sky, the continents, all the treasure in the world –"

She let him roll on for a moment, thoughts going back to Eiko and her innocent questioning. "Don't you ever get embarrassed, Zidane?"

" – all the gil, all the swords, all the – huh?" He scratched his chin. "Nope. Not really."

"Never?"

"What've I got to be embarrassed about?"

"Didn't you feel awkward when Eiko was asking all those… things?"

"Um… No."

Garnet looked into the water, her legs extended across its floor like two silvery fish. She tugged at a lock of her hair and found it slightly curly, from the heat she supposed. "How can you _not_ be embarrassed?"

Zidane shrugged and simply stated, "We were brought up very differently."

It was strange. The subject made her awfully uncomfortable (not jealous never jealous) but it was like peeking through her fingers at something scary. Half of her wanted to know, but half of her didn't, and there was a conflict within her somewhere between morbid curiosity and denial. It was a question that was always in the back of her mind; one she could never voice without seeming outright boorish and invasive.

Still, curiosity was such a difficult thing to overcome, and maybe the few glasses of wine Freya had granted to warm her up had given her courage.

"Guess you've…" _How to word it…?_ "…had your share, huh?"

Zidane blinked at her. "My share of what?"

Garnet turned positively fuchsia. "Don't make me say it."

"Huh? Uhh… Oh." His eyes widened a tad. "Oh. Oh. Geez. Wha-? Ah… "

Maybe curiosity wasn't such a good thing, after all. "S-sorry! I shouldn't of… It was none of my… F-forget I asked."

Zidane shrugged and muttered, "S'alright," before averting his gaze to the spring. He showed no outward sign of agitation; even his tail remained motionless beneath the torrid surface.

How could someone be so blithe?

And why couldn't she just leave at that? (She wasn't at all jealous, that much she was sure of.)

"How many?"

Zidane actually spluttered this time and his cheeks and ears turned slightly pink. Was that the heat? The hot spring finally getting to him? Because Zidane never got embarrassed, right?

"D-Dagger!" He sounded as shocked as he did appalled. But appalled at who, she wondered. "You can't… I don't… You shouldn't… This is… I mean…" He ran a hand through his hair; wet palm unintentionally slicking blonde bangs from his face. He managed to thread a sentence together. "Why… would you ask something like that?"

She shrugged. As awful as it was to admit, she was getting some twisted satisfaction out of watching him squirm; it was almost always the other way round. But there was something else too, something that fascinated her. Where was the Zidane who shamelessly boasted about his antics? Where was the raucous spirit who never shied from parting with a lewd tale or two?

"I thought you never got embarrassed," she teased with a grin. "You've turned redder than Amarant's hair."

"It's the heat," he mumbled lamely. "Hey, remember what I telling Eiko? About asking things that aren't anyone's business?"

"Oooh, sour-puss. Are you telling me to mind my own business?"

He frowned at the water. "S'not something I wanna tell you."

"Why not?"

He slapped a hand against the surface in a gesture that mirrored Eiko's exactly, except his was paired with an exasperated exhale. "'Cause! Why does it matter? Would it make a difference what I told you? What if I said two? Five? Twenty? Fifty? Would you think differently of me?"

She was surprised by this emotional outburst, but even more so by her immediate reply. "Not at all."

He met her eyes then, his own slightly wild and unabashedly surprised. She laughed lightly, and wondered if the wine really had gone to her head. "Don't worry about it," she said. "What's past is past, right? Anyway, it's none of my business. You can do what you want." She stood up and briefly fought the faint light-headedness accompanied by the heat, then clambered from the hot spring. In fact, she was concentrating so hard on not tumbling she almost didn't hear him.

" – only want you."

She turned and stared down at him, but he was looking at his hands, floating below the spring's surface like pale starfish.

"Did… did you say something?"

He turned to look up at her and his eyes were a candour muddle of melancholy and lo –

_What!? Don't be ridiculous. _

"Did… you say something…?"

They stared at each other for a moment, the indecision reaping storms across the cobalt of his eyes. In the end, he simply lied, "No."

She opened her mouth, perhaps to oppose him, perhaps to bid him goodnight, but her thoughts and the heavy mood were severed once again by an impetuous vixen with purple hair.

"I don't need to listen to silly ol' Amarant anyways," Eiko chirped, as if their previous conversation had never been severed. "Hey are you getting out now? I was gonna get back –" She suddenly noted the atmosphere. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Garnet assured. "We were just talking, that's all."

"About making babies?" Eiko sung, clearly a new subject of fascination for her. "You know I wont tell anyone if you did do anything. I mean –"

"Eiko!" Zidane tried to impede but she cut him off defiantly.

" – there's nothing dirty about it anyways. I don't get why you're makin' such a big deal out of it. I mean, all you do is summon the Magic Chocobo who gives you an enchanted seed which you then give to Dagger who eats it and then the seed grows into a baby inside her belly. Right?

Garnet and Zidane stared at the little girl in a stupor, and before Zidane could start braying again, Garnet solemnly replied, "Yes, Eiko. That's exactly how it would've happened – _if_ it had happened."

"Yup. But alas, the Magic Chocobo will have to wait," Zidane chimed, climbing from the spring and quivering lip the only outward sign of pent up laughter. "Well, I dunno about you ladies, but I'm callin' it a night."

"I get first dibs on the beds!" Eiko screeched before charging past the two toward the inn. She slammed the door behind her and the remaining bathers tsked loudly.

"Magic Chocobo," Zidane repeated with a laugh. "Guess that's what you get for living with moogles."

"Don't tell her otherwise."

"Wouldn't dream of it." He scratched the back of his head. "Well, g'night."

"Yeah… Goodnight."

Zidane offered a smile before turning and following Eiko toward the inn, however Garnet couldn't help but call after him on impulse, and he paused at the door.

"Zidane, it wasn't really fifty, was it?"

He laughed. "Geez, Dagger, I'm only sixteen!" and with that he shut the door with a muffled thud, leaving Garnet lingering on the threshold of the spring with a slight smile on her face.

"Good," she said to herself, before picking up her towel and heading inside.

* * *

Ah, my little Garnet is growing up. Or she's been overexposed to a certain someone :points accusingly at Zidane: … Hey, I'd want to know about that kind of thing too, right!? He's my little monkey-slut, yup. I don't like it when people write fics where he's like… an innocent little virgin. NO HE IS A WHORE SO WRITE HIM THAT WAY. Mwahaha.

(Anyone ever noticed how Zidane's storyline is similar to Goku's from DragonBall? Boy from an outer-space civilisation is sent to another planet to destroy it but things go wrong and he ends up making friends and family and saving the planet from his brother? And he has a tail. Just me? Huh.)

Review plz yus.


	21. Aftershock

A/N: Got rid of all the typos in the last chapter.

* * *

(Aftershock)

_I've never been fond of fairytales_, Garnet reflected as she stared down at the corpse.

Why? Those stories often involved princesses, and as a princess herself she found their situations both ludicrously whimsical and worryingly familiar, the latter causing her to shut the books with an impatient snap. Garnet had often heard it said that girls all over the world dreamed of being a princess, and though Garnet never begrudged her status, she wished those books weren't so misleading. The days were long and monotonous, the extravagant gowns heavy and unaccommodating, the lifestyle limited, dull. The only accuracy those fairytales told was of imprisonment behind castle walls. Sometimes she fancied she should write her own fairytale, for no reason other than to dismiss these common slurs.

But what had made her think of those silly books at such a dire time? After the short-lived battle had ended with a drawn-out moan and the monster was a motionless mess at her feet, she had felt an unexpected prick of nostalgia and wondered from where it had come. She stopped to stare at the corpse, a creature on four legs with wings like blades and a flaxen mane jutting spikes along its spine. Its hooves had prattled against the walkway as it whinnied aggressively, tossing the blade-like horn cresting its head with all the skill of a maddened swordsman.

The answer came to her quite suddenly. This monster reminded her of a fairytale she had read once, telling of a creature white as untouched sugar, boasting a honey-gold mane tousled against its handsome snout. Upon its head was a spiralling horn, glittery like sunlight on snow. Its eyes had been painted large and gentle and intelligent. The book said it was a unicorn. Amarant said this monster was an Amdusias.

She wondered if the fairytale creature had been based off this monster, twisted like the story of all those princesses. She felt a flicker of despair as she wondered if the theory of a 'happy ending' really was just a creation to jolly young children in life.

"What are you doing?"

Garnet startled and looked up, blinking and blinking. "Y-yes?"

Zidane cocked his head at her, unsmiling face unnatural as a sun-less sky; his eyes betrayed a slight glean of irritation. Garnet glanced past him and saw the others far ahead. Zidane had had to backtrack to find her.

"S-sorry!" she stuttered, though her gaze dropped to the corpse of the dark unicorn before she shuffled away, with Zidane's fast steps wordlessly hurrying her pace.

'He's not waiting for anyone,' Steiner had said earlier, tone startling absent of the usual contempt he held for the thief. 'With all respect, Highness, you must not dither.'

_He's lost his patience,_ Garnet thought with a nip of panic and sadness. _He wants to get this over with and leave as fast as possible._

Garnet stole a quick glance at the surrounding chamber and could hardly blame him. The dark walls spiralled around them oddly, their surfaces riddled with wires and piping, incongruous structures shooting from the fluted floor. The aesthetic seemed both natural and manmade, everything constructed from synthetic material yet taking on the contours of an eroded seashell. This, combined with the nightmarish thicket of walkways that crisscrossed above them like a spider's cobweb, made it feel like she was traversing some ancient sediment. It was an awful, ugly place.

_But this is where Zidane is from,_ she reminded herself. _There's no happy ending here. No happy beginning, either._

Even when Garnet was young, she'd always relied on other people for strength. It was only recently that she found it in herself, converting her deep sorrow into the courage to fight on. Zidane was opposite to her in that respect. He was a pillar of strength, sustaining so many people it was a wonder he shrugged it off as glibly as he did.

_But everyone needs help sometimes._

Garnet had found Zidane slumped at a dragon's feet, defeated in a way she'd never seen him before. She'd seen him unconscious too many times for her liking, and pushed to the brink of exhaustion so he was incapable of movement, but this time had been different. His eyes told of a deeper defeat. Garnet's and Zidane's expressions were no doubt identical when they came face to face: both unspeakably angry yet so relived it was almost painful to behold, and all she thought was, _Even pillars crumble. _

Even after, when the troupe were reunited and Zidane poorly consoled their worries with a brief apology and a smile that reminded Garnet of clouded sunshine, she still sensed that something was not quite right. True, they were all eager to confront Garland (if only to get him out of the picture) and to leave wretched Pandemonium and Bran Bal behind, but Zidane's restlessness seemed to stem from something deeper.

_'Not knowing's half the fun, right?' _his words echoed in a haunting manner.

_Is ignorance truly bliss?_ Garnet wondered. _Would he take it all back if he'd known what it would come to? Live his life forever searching instead of living with the awful reality?_

He had said little about what Garland had told him, just awful snippets that stung her most brutally because she couldn't stand to think of how it must be hurting him inside.

_He wanted that happy ending so badly,_ she thought forlornly, _and all he got was a tribe of soulless clones, a dead planet, a sadistic brother and a pitiless father – if they can even be labelled as such._

Still traversing a rise that led to where their troupe lingered, Garnet paused to look over her shoulder, tongue finding the words before her mind had acceded. "Zidane… Zidane do you want –"

"Don't waste time," he snapped, and she felt his hand against her back and he pushed her - actually _pushed_ her! – up the slope. It didn't hurt and it wasn't aggressive, it didn't even make her stumble, but Zidane had never done anything like thatbefore. All she could utter was a startled, "I-I'm c-coming!" before fighting the urge to sprint away from him.

As soon as they reached the group, who remained oblivious to what had transpired, Zidane marched through and out, proclaiming in a sharp, cheerful voice, "C'mon guys, we're almost there!"

She wondered if anyone else sensed something amiss. Maybe they did but accepted his reaction as normal. Maybe they wanted to leave him to it, to support him from the sidelines. She felt a moments anger toward Zidane for not learning his lesson. Everyone needs help. Bottling the problem inside would lead to another breakdown and they couldn't afford that – not now.

But clearly he wasn't inclined to talk, so what was she to do?

They trekked on through the bleary landscape, hardly getting a look in as Zidane reaped death upon every unlucky monster stupid enough to block his path. He didn't stop to be cured if the beasts landed a blow, but ever resolute in her ways, Garnet scurried behind him and awkwardly cast her magic as his tail thrashed agitated lines in front.

Eventually, he stopped at the threshold of a chamber and stared round with perplexed irritation. Garnet followed his gaze anxiously, skimming over the profusion of alien structures carved into the walls, whose shapes reminded her of half open eyes. However, the roots of her trepidation were the innumerable teleportation pads littered across a maze of walkways. They shimmered with alien luminosity, lily pads scattered on a stagnant pond. Some glowed a fiery hue, but most were the blue of Terra.

"Which one?" Garnet voiced everyone's thoughts. "Where do we even need to head for?"

"Up there," Zidane said, after a moments surveillance. They followed his pointed finger and observed a walkway high above, jutting from an open doorway like a protruding tongue.

"Geez, what's wrong with a flight of stairs!?" Eiko yelled, skipping toward a teleportation device. "Garland could've at least made directions!"

"Let's think about this carefully," Freya said as she joined the little girl, "or we might end up lost in this maze all day."

"Maybe we should split up?" Steiner suggested. "One of us will locate the correct pathway eventually."

"With all these monsters?" Garnet countered. "I'd rather not have someone wounded in a place none of us can reach."

"Gods, this is taking too long! Just wait here, all of you."

The outburst had come from Zidane, and before anyone could think to stop him he stood upon the pad and was lost in a shimmering veil of blue. Garnet watched as his body broke apart into countless pieces, like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle, and coasted into the air. The beam curved, then dropped and swerved somewhere below, disappearing amidst the complex labyrinth of walkways.

"Damn him!" Freya cursed. "Why can't he just –"

But Garnet didn't hear the end of Freya's sentence. Suddenly overcome by an impulse, she jumped onto the pad herself. She thought she heard Steiner's muffled cry of alarm, but then her thoughts were suddenly far away and she couldn't feel her arms or legs or face or anything her whole being was gliding away from her like falling or swimming or dying but she couldn't think at all so it didn't really matter there wasn't even any sound or any way to _comprehend_ –

Then she blinked – or she thought she blinked – and found herself alone on walkway bearing two iridescent teleports. She looked frantically from one to the other then made a random guess and jumped on the left, wasting no time. Again, the world died for what felt like barely a second, and when she emerged she was elevated far above, staring across the vast chamber. She saw the group below, still together and frantically scouring the surrounding walkways, but no Zidane. She hopped onto another device, then onto another and another, knowing it was fruitless to try and calculate where they would take her.

Finally, after several unsuccessful search attempts, she paused at a walkway situated many tiers below the first and scowled round at her surroundings. The platforms grew up around her like gargantuan mushrooms and the walls watched her thorough sleepy lids. She heard Eiko calling and the distant call of a monster, but other than that the chamber was disturbingly silent. Gods, she hoped she wouldn't have to engage in battle alone.

With this in mind, she turned to scout for danger, suddenly wondering why she'd acted so rashly, and abruptly spotted Zidane on a parallel walkway. It wasn't that far, just to the left and below enough so Zidane hadn't spotted her. She dropped to her knees and leaned over the periphery.

"Zidane!"

The thief startled and looked up. "Dagger! What are you doing?"

"What am _I_ doing? I went after you! Why did you run off?"

"Why did you come after me?"

Garnet huffed and looked around. There was a teleportation pad at the end of her walkway different to the one she had come from. "Zidane, will that teleport get me to where you are?"

"I haven't been up there," he called back.

Garnet tsked. So that teleport could take her anywhere – possibly further away from Zidane. She looked back to where the blonde stood and found him staring up at her with an expression somewhere between distracted and anxious. If only he hadn't run off!

_There's only one thing for it,_ she thought sombrely. "Wait there! I'm coming across!"

"I don't think that teleport goes to this one," Zidane shouted.

"I'm not using the teleport."

"Huh?"

The princess stared over the edge again. It was a ridiculously long drop, with numerous walkways overlapping below like the branches of Iifa. She certainly wouldn't live if she fell, but Zidane's platform wasn't so far. Five feet? Six feet? It was difficult to tell. However, it was quite a drop. What if she broke her ankle?

_Come on Garnet, you've been through worse. _

Silently encouraging herself, Garnet stood up and took two steps back, swinging her arms from side to side in a way that undoubtedly mirrored Zidane's mannerisms.

"Woah woah woah – don't do what I think you're gonna do! Hey, Dagger, I'm serious – don't do that! Dagger! Dagger?"

Ignoring the thief's cries and suddenly giddy with adrenalin, Garnet ran and leaped off the walkway. The ground disappeared beneath her feet and she was gloriously weightless for what seemed like hours. _It's just like swimming,_ she had time to think before she plummeted like a stone. The world rushed up in a soundless blur, her skin tingling from either exhilaration or death's touch, and then she hit the walkway below with a juddering thud.

Or at least what she thought was the walkway.

"Ouch…"

Her head was spinning slightly, making the bright teleportation pads dance round like a carousel, so it was a while until she realised the platform wasn't half as hard as she thought it was going to be and that actually it wasn't the walkway at all but –

"Zidane!"

Garnet hopped off the spreadeagled thief as gracefully as her wobbly legs allowed and bent over him with concern. "I'm so sorry! I guess my aim was kinda off."

Zidane sat up, rubbing his head, and managed a half-hearted smile. "Wow, I can't believe you did that! That was Zidane-crazy, that was."

Garnet blushed a little "I'm not sure that's a compliment, but at least I'm alive." She kicked him. "Why did you run off like that? Couldn't you have waited a whole two minutes while we came up with a plan?"

He remained seated and pouted miserably. "I got tired of waiting."

Garnet sat down next to him and dangled her legs over the side. "Listen, I know you want to get all this out the way – we all do! – but you can't go into battle with this state of mind. It's dangerous and careless; you could get badly hurt."

He shrugged. "Who cares? It doesn't even matter anymore…"

"Zidane! Don't talk like that!"

"Why? I can't believe… I can't believe that this is where I'm from… Who I am…" He hung his head, obscuring his eyes with blonde bangs. "Do you know what Garland told me? He told me that I'm just like Kuja."

Garnet stared at him. "That's ridiculous! You're nothing like him!"

"That's what I said… but now… I'm not so sure…"

"I… don't understand what you mean! You're nothing like him – "

"Garland also told me… he said… I'm an angel of death. Dagger, I was meant to kill a lot of people. If things had been just a bit different…"

Overwhelmed by his emotion, Garnet grabbed his hands and held them in her own, twisting round to try and grasp his diverted eyes. "But that doesn't matter, Zidane! You didn't become what he wanted, you're not an angel of death, you're just you."

"I don't even know who I am any more."

Garnet shook his hands in agitation, feeling like she was grasping water and it was trickling between her fingers. "Don't talk like that! I can't bear it! What Garland says doesn't mean a thing! You would never do something like that – I know it. You would never go against the people of Gaia. It was never your destiny – your destiny was to _prevent_ this from happening - gods damn you, Zidane Tribal, look at me!"

He did so, but grudgingly, as if his eyes were tethered to the ground.

"Zidane, I don't care what you are or where you're from, and I hate you for thinking things like this." She leaned closer, desperately searching for the words to console him, drawing them from some aching, untouched place in her soul that was roaring like a bonfire now. "You're the bravest, kindest person I've ever met and I know you'd never hurt anyone. I don't care if you're an angel of death or whatever, as long as you stay the same. I'd do anything for you, Zidane, and not just me either! Everyone. We all fought for you in Pandemonium regardless of what Garland said. Look at Vivi! He was created to be a weapon of war but you and I both know he's as sweet as a butterfly."

Looking more confused than comforted, Zidane looked away, hands still limp in her hers. He opened his mouth to say something, but in a last desperate bid to comfort him, Garnet leaned forward and planted a lingering kiss on his cheek. Later, she would be quite shocked with herself for being so bold, but her rational thoughts were so clouded by raw, newfound emotion that it seemed quite natural at the time.

Zidane's eyes widened a tad and when she pulled back he turned sharply toward her with such a guileless, bewildered expression that Garnet found herself disarmed. He sighed in a way that was almost wistful, then admitted, "I guess I've been pretty selfish, huh?"

Garnet shrugged. "It's understandable. Everyone needs help, Zidane, so don't shun us, okay? We're all here for you."

He nodded slowly, still staring intently at the princess. "Mmm. What about you?"

Her furious emotions didn't die, but the first roots of awkwardness were being to shoot. "I… You know I'm always here for you…"

"Really?"

"Of course! I mean… we're here for each other, right?"

He smiled. "Yeah, I'm here for you too."

There was a heavy silence, and it was then she realised he was gripping her hands back and had somehow entwined their fingers. Embarrassed, she released her grip and primly patted his knee. "And no more running off."

"Only if you promise me you wont jump off any more walkways," he said. "I think you gave me a minor heart attack."

They both giggled, erasing the sombre mood somewhat (until both were sharply lectured by the party for running off), and after thirty minutes of teleporting from platform to platform trying to find their way back, it was a unanimous opinion that neither of them ever wanted to see another teleport again.

* * *

Ohoho, spontaneous Garnet is my favourite Garnet.

Sorry it's a bit short. I broke up with my boyfriend of three years last Monday and do you know how hard it is to write romance after that? Bwahaha, hopefully I managed though .

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this fic, btw. YOU CHEER ME ON.


	22. Unspoken

(Unspoken)

"Zid-!"

Garnet bolted upright from her tangle of blankets with his name half formed on her lips. She managed to stifle the rest by clamping a hand across her mouth, though more from amazement that she could shout herself awake than to prevent further noise. It briefly reminded her of the time she had apparently talked in her sleep and as her mind worked to recollect the details, the dream that had frightened her so blurred beyond recognition.

Vines. She remembered that. But not like the sinuous, supple foliage that had ensnared her in the Evil Forest a lifetime ago. They'd been thick enough to shake the foundations of the platform she'd stood upon and she'd felt overwhelming fear alongside a certainty that she was awaiting death's embrace. The walls… had they been walls? They… were green like… the vines but…

Garnet shook her head. The dream was fading with every frantic beat of her heart. She closed her eyes to calm herself and felt a bead of sweat curve across her brow. Absently she wiped it, then cursed the place that had inflicted such a nightmare, for surely that must have been the cause?

It occurred to her that she might have woken others from slumber with her involuntary cry, but when she looked around their makeshift camp – if one could even call it such – she found her comrades fast asleep. She marvelled at this. True, they were all fatigued but Garnet had found it impossible to fall into a proper slumber; the fitful snoozes she kept drifting in and out of supplied nothing but nightmares. The last had been the worse of all, even though she could not quite recall it. And neither did she have the desire too.

Deeming sleep unreachable, Garnet sat up and pushed her blankets away, surveying her surroundings. They hadn't set up camp as usual. There were no tents and no friendly fire, just blanket-swathed, snoring humps scattered haphazardly about the ground like discarded washing. There was one hump missing, however – the person who had volunteered to keep watch and allow the others a few hours of rest.

Yet he was nowhere to be found.

Garnet stood up and blinked bleariness from her vision. She went to find him but hesitated a moment, suddenly uncertain.

The problem with Memoria didn't lie in the brooding architecture, shifting landscapes or powerful monsters (though those were all an issue) but in its ability to morph according to the state of an individual's mind. It was the most confusing place and had about it a supernatural quality that often sent a person drifting away from the group, eyes fixed on something that wasn't quite there and momentarily unresponsive to their comrade's calls. Garnet had heard voices in her mind, too. Her cousin Dimitri, chattering about sailing boats along the canal, a conversation she faintly remembered having eight years ago. A maid telling her to hitch her skirts an inch as she climbed the stairs to prevent her heel from snagging the material. The princess could shake these off after a time, but shaking the illusions was a much more strenuous task.

Garnet saw her mother, one time. She was how she remembered as a child, slimmer and almost pretty, jovial and articulate. Brahne turned to her daughter and frowned slightly, as if seeing Garnet was as unexpected as Garnet seeing her. Then she waved her fan and beckoned, "Garnet, dear, wherever have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Garnet's eyes filled with tears then, her heart aching with such colliding sorrow and joy it was as if the breath had been ripped right out of her lungs. She took a trembling step forward, hand outstretched and as a tear rolled down her cheek she breathed, "Mother!"

A hand had rested on her shoulder. She turned to see Zidane behind her, shaking his head sadly, not at all confused, and when Garnet turned back her mother was gone.

--

Garnet sighed. There'd been others too, none so as painful but still disorientating. She had looked from a window and saw the familiar higgledy rooftops of Alexandria. When she peered into an otherwise empty room, she saw the old court jester practising his juggling – a man who had been dead some five or six years. Some people saw her illusions (or memories, to be more exact) and sometimes they were hers alone to behold. She guessed her comrades were as confused and saddened as her by their illusions, both shared and private, and even Zidane struggled to keep the morale high. She reckoned the only thing that kept them going was that they were so close – so close to ending it once and for all. They plodded onward with weary acceptance, quiet in their thoughts and mannerisms.

Garnet stared up at the room they currently inhabited, if it could even be called a room. They were camped on a structure that resembled the likes of a castle. There were several flights of stairs, worn down by what looked like a thousand footfalls though no evidence of current occupants remained, which led to doors and nothing. On every side stretched endless space with chunks of rubble motionless in its star-less black. In a moment of bravery Garnet had peered over one of the stretches of railing and found that the structure was elevated an inconceivable height above nothing, the foundations crumbling into bright oblivion.

This brought to mind Zidane again, and gathering her resolve Garnet carefully picked her way between her snoozing comrades to find him. She didn't need to look far, for he was dutifully keeping watch, but he wasn't paying much attention to the troupe. Garnet found him standing on a balcony that jutted the furthest from the main structure, both hands clasping the iron railing and shoulders hunched as if shielding himself from a bitter wind. He stared out into the lightless space with blank eyes and his tail was drooped uncharacteristically low.

She paused for a moment, wondering if she should disturb him, then she feared Garland might be speaking to him. It disturbed her very much that the deranged old man was inside Zidane's head, telling him things no one could hear. Why trust the lunatic? He had been intent on destroying Gaia as they knew it – why did Zidane have to be so credulous?

_Does he view Garland as a father?_ Garnet wondered, but suddenly remembered Baku's wry smile and warm tales and decided Zidane could never view Terra's master as anything paternal.

Suddenly, Garnet was overcome with emotion. Watching him alone on that balcony struck an unusual chord, and her dream was abruptly brought into focus again. The giant vines that snaked about the outskirts of her vision, often soaring toward her with frightening whistles and thunderous crashes, dirt spurting upward in explosive fountains. The memory left her short of breath, chest tight with fear. Why did she associate this terrible dream with Zidane?

_A premonition._

The thought came from some deep corner of her mind and shook her to the core. Surely it wasn't? Just a dream. A silly dream.

Still, she couldn't shake the feeling. Zidane stood there, oblivious to her presence, dear tail limp beneath the stress he refused to show.

A second thought occurred, more horrific than the last: What if something happened to him?

No. No. Never. Nothing would ever happen to Zidane.

But even as she willed herself to believe such a thing, the rational side of her consciousness primly scolded this fairytale thinking. Zidane wasn't some untouchable knight in shining armour, nor an immortal god. He felt and hurt and bled like everyone else. The raw truth was simply this: Zidane could die and there was nothing she could do about it.

_No!_

She clutched her chest. There it was again! The same feeling she'd experienced of late when facing her feelings toward the thief. Hot and raw and suffocating and delightful and heady. Such silly things induced this feeling – the way his nose wrinkled when he got mad, the way his bangs could never been tied from his face, the attentive spark in his eye when she spoke, the passionate inflection in his tone, every minor touch they'd shared over the past few days. What did it all mean?

_Zidane can't go away, _she thought desperately_. Zidane can't die. I couldn't go on. I can't live without him now… I…_

_I…_

_I _love_ him._

And there it was. Those three words that had lingered beneath the surface of her conscious like gold concealed in a riverbed. As soon as she admitted it to herself, all the confusion she'd felt over her feelings toward Zidane suddenly became crystal clear, everything as complicated as it was simplified, bittersweet and glorious.

How could such a feeling develop over such a tumultuous time?

She recalled Eiko's words after leaving the Water Shrine.

_'Do you love Zidane?'_

How that question had plagued her! It came to her like a mischievous imp every time she was on the brink of sleep. She'd scoffed the notion at first, but always failed to dismiss the uncertainty pulsing beneath her shunning. She'd told herself firmly that Zidane was just a good friend and nothing more. He had helped her countless times and they had forged a friendship so strong it was understandable that it could get muddled with love. And they had known each other for such a short time (yet it felt like she knew him completely and for years) and they were so young!

But now… Now she had admitted it she knew it was true.

Garnet was in love with Zidane.

However, it made that sickly, ominous feeling all the worse. She couldn't – she _wouldn't –_ let something happen to him. Not now. Not her Zidane. She'd never let him go.

Suddenly overwrought with emotion, Garnet discarded any initial trepidation and approached the Genome. He was lost in thought, or perhaps too sombre to make light conversation, so when she slid up alongside him he did nothing but smile and raise his eyebrows. This expression was as familiar as grass beneath her feet and that emotion – the _love_ – came rushing back.

_We're so close to ending it all…_

_What if we lose?_

"Oh… Z-Zid…"

His smile dropped as the princess' face crumpled and fat tears went spilling down her cheeks. He almost stumbled back in shock when Garnet then slipped herself between the railing and his front and embraced him. Zidane stood in a stupor, blinking stupidly at the unromantic skyline. Uncertain, his hands hesitated inches from her back, then when he felt her body wrack with silent sobs he sighed heavily and returned the embrace.

Garnet was furious with herself for crying. She wanted to shout and laugh and scream and run until her legs dropped off but in the end all she could do was cry like she was a girl of six again. Her terror and love was a heady concoction burning away at her heart so she gripped him tightly, arms squeezed around his middle and fingers grasping the cotton of his shirt.

He let her cry for some time; he didn't say anything. Eventually, her sobs subsided until all she was doing was sniffling against his shoulder. When she'd recovered, she turned her head so her cheek pressed against the sturdy line of his shoulder. She didn't loosen her grip however, and marvelled at how every contour of her body seemed to fit his exactly despite their differing shapes, as if they were pieces of a puzzle finally joined together. There was nothing embarrassing about it now, just a sense of belated conviction.

"Sorry," she said in a raspy voice. It had suddenly occurred to her that the gesture was quite out of the blue. But Zidane chuckled, albeit with an undertone of bemusement.

"S'okay," he said. His voice purred pleasantly against her cheek. "What's wrong?"

She realised that nothing felt wrong when she was in his arms. As cliché as it sounded, her troubles simply melted away. But his words did bring back that ominous sensation and she clung to him tighter, like a drowning man clinging to driftwood.

"Ooof," he said. "I'm not gonna float away, y'know. Talk about bear hug."

Garnet moved her head so the curve of her nose fitted neatly against the side of his neck. Thick bangs of blonde tickled her brow and she felt every movement he made with incredible clarity. "You're not going to leave, are you?"

Obviously bewildered, Zidane offered an inadequate, "Eh?"

"Are you going to go away?"

"Urrr… I don't think so."

"Promise me you wont."

"Dagger…"

"Promise me!"

"I'm not going to die, Dagger." She didn't reply. "What are you scared of?"

"Losing you…" she admitted quietly.

His hand trailed up her spine and tugged affectionately at the short stubs of her hair. "I'm not gonna die," he repeated. "No one's gonna die except Kuja…and if I could prevent that…"

She looked up at him, startled. Usually, he would relish being so close to her, their faces kissing-distance apart, but his expression was distant and his eyes melancholy.

"You… don't want Kuja to die?"

"I don't want anyone to die!" he declared ardently. "Especially not… Ah, it doesn't matter. It's difficult to explain." He caught her expression. "But don't worry, I'll do what I have to do to end all this."

She buried her face against his neck again with an air of contentment. "I just don't want you to go away…"

Zidane chuckled with genuine humour and he pulled her a tad closer. "What's up with you? You're very… cuddly today."

"You don't want me to be?"

"No no no no no. I'm not complaining, by any means. Just caught me off guard, is all. Ah… You're not a Memoria illusion, are you?"

"Considering these illusions are technically memories – and I don't recall ever hugging you before like this – then I should think not."

Zidane paused. "Good. Just checking."

They lapsed into comfortable silence, Garnet still squeezing him tight and Zidane trailing a hand up and down her back. Despite the comfort, the princess found herself gnawing her lip anxiously, on the brink of saying something meaningful but not ready to break the silence just yet. She was content with being honest with herself for now, even if she wasn't being entirely honest with him. And in truth, she relished being so physically close, realising it could be as comforting as all the kind words he'd granted her over the months.

She shifted closer to him, wanting to get as close as possible but not knowing how, burying her face hard into his neck. Zidane always smelt nice, she realised. Not of the flowery perfume gentlemen of nobility wore (and even though she'd found it so lovely at the time, it now seemed very artificial) but raw and simple. The cheap soap inn's supplied, the ash from a cook fire, the dusky scent of chocobo feathers and every now and then the disconcerting but understandable tang of a monster's blood. She shifted her head a bit to look at him but this close she could see only his neck and his jaw. There was a smear of dirt there, reasonable considering Memoria's lack of bathing locations (or maybe it was just Zidane's disregard of cleanliness). Absently, Garnet adjusted her arm and licked her thumb, then ran it across the streak until it was clean.

"Ah! Ah.. ah!" Zidane yelped with alarm.

"You had dirt on you," Garnet explained matter-of-factly, and renewed her grip round his waist.

Zidane touched the slightly wet part of his jaw and winced. "Geez, give me some warning before you start licking me or whatever. You trying to make a man horny or what?"

Garnet leaned back a bit. "I wasn't! You… I… I didn't mean it – like that!" She scowled. "You have to twist everything to suit your scandalous mind!"

"Nuh-uh. You just don't realise how sexy you are."

Garnet realised her grip and crossed her arms over her chest mockingly. "You're hopeless and I wont buy your cheap flattery."

"And I'm so good at it, too," Zidane surrendered with a grin. He opened his arms. "Once more for good luck?"

She hesitated, hating to take the bait of his leeching, but she threw herself into his arms in an intentionally overdramatic display of affection, almost like one would greet a relative or friend, and gave him a big kiss on the cheek that left him suitably ruffled and sniggering.

"I don't think I'll ever understand women," he declared with a theatrical flourish.

They pulled away and stared at each other, Garnet feeling inclined to say something. Zidane scratched the back of his head after the silence became a bit to heavy to bear, and reluctantly he said, "We better wake the others. I think… it's about time to get this over with."

--

When she looked back, months later, all she really remembered was thinking how ill he looked. It wasn't so much his torn attire (the right side of his waist coat almost obliterated and tainted from the blood beneath) nor was it the smear of dirt on his forehead that he'd tried to wipe away. It was the exhaustion in his eyes. She had no idea what was keeping him going.

She heard his words and barely registered them. They were faint from the hollow despair that was already smothering her. Hollow despair and, most shockingly, a resigned acceptance.

_There's never a happy ending,_ she thought numbly as he dropped to his knees before her. She had a moment to look into his eyes and they were apologetic enough, but he couldn't hold her gaze for long. The apology turned to regret beneath her listless stare, then promptly dropped to the dirt.

She listened to his lame excuses, not understanding at all. He was always the hero, he could never leave someone behind, he was too kind for his own good, _he can't just walk away _– all that she understood, and it wasn't in her nature to apprehend him. She would let him go, regardless of her feelings.

He was waiting. She braced herself. It hurt a little bit but it hadn't really settled yet, like a leaf taking a tumultuous path downstream. The real pain was waiting in the shadows, so she took the moment to speak before it pounced her.

And she began spurting words that were entirely meaningless. They weren't lies, but they didn't summarise her thoughts and feelings truthfully. 'I'll never forget our trip together' was something she heard herself say.

_Our trip._

Was that what it was? No. But she just couldn't find the words – not yet. Her head was full of clouds, all rumbling and black and blocking all the things she wanted to say. The one thing she really, _really_ wanted to say.

She paused, staring at her hands, ignoring him still kneeling at her feet like a defeated knight or a groom-to-be, and the sky all bloody-red behind him, and in the end all she managed to say was, "Promise me one thing… Please come back."

She didn't hear his answer, didn't look at him on the ground. She turned and went to the ship, willing her heart to stay numb for a few moments longer lest she drop to her own knees and begin begging and begging like an unwilling criminal facing the guillotine.

The roar of the Hilda Garde's engine was distant, like building thunder. She barely felt herself cross the deck, nor did she register the path of her comrades. Her feet took her to the railing and she found herself looking down at Zidane and smiling. And _smiling_.

The ground was getting smaller. The sky was swallowing her whole. She didn't see the writhing brutality of the Iifa Tree, which seemed to be uprooting itself like she'd fantasised during her first visit. She leaned further and further over the railing, watching his vanishing form until the ship turned and he was completely obscured. Even then she remained staring fixedly at nothing, the slight smile unmoving from her face even as the continent gave way to ocean and the first tear of many dripped from her chin and joined the surging depths below.

In the end, she simply wished she'd told him the truth.

* * *

There's an epilogue to come;-) I've always found Garnet's 'last' words to Zidane really strange and more than a bit empty. It was like they really were nothing more than friends. Very odd. But that's where I come in, I suppose :grin:

Kudos to angelalex242 for bringing 'katethegreat19' to my attention. It's well worth checking her out on youtube. She composes fanvocals for FF songs, and even though I went in with a very, very, very sceptical frame of mind I was more than pleasantly surprised. She really has got a beautiful voice and the lyrics to 'You're Not Alone' and 'The Place I'll Return To Someday' are so haunting. She's genuinely talented – something that's difficult to find on youtube nowadays.

Please review! One more chap left :wink:


	23. Confessions of a Sleeping Mind

I'm sorry it took so long, and for such a short chapter! As it's the last chapter, I'm putting the afterword first, so bear with me.

O wow, 23 chapters, wtf? I intended this to be 3 chapters and LOOK WHAT HAPPENED. I think it's somewhere between obsession and having too much time on my hands haha. I loved this fic more than any other I've done I think, simply 'cause I love exploring Zid and Garnet's relationship. It has been so much fun to write and I hope I've realistically built upon the characters portrayed in the game – and filled in the wtf moments for the curious.

However, I'm not so sad this fic has ended. Why? Well… ah… :scratches head sheepishly:… I have a follow-up planned. :listens as the whole fanfiction community groans: No no no bear with me here! It wont be as long as BBB – not by a long shot –it's just gonna look into how their relationship unfolds after the game. Anyways, it may or may not happen. I'm working on other projects (that aren't and are fanfiction) but doing these gives me a welcome break and much needed practise. Sooo… yeah. Keep an eye out for the follow up which will (if ever done) be called 'Foundations' – it might be under the 'M' section. Ohoholemonplz.

Which actually brings me onto something people keep subtly hinting/wanting/bitching about. No, none of my fics, including BBB, contain lemon - just mild lime. As I've said, I try and make their relationship realistic, and with all the war business going on and considering Garnet's introvert personality, I just can't see them doing anything quite so serious in-game. Simple as that.

Last but not least, THANK YOU TO ALL MY REVIEWERS. Gad, I can't even explain how much you all mean to me! All the crits and kind words and support have really egged me on – even through losing my job (twice) and breaking up with my ex. You guys are like… the best cyber friends ever!!! Special thanks to Myshu for putting up with my bitching over PM – haha she knows what I mean. And I'm sorry if I don't reply to all your reviews; please believe me when I say they mean so much to me!

Right then. Now that incredibly long A/N is over, please enjoy the epilogue. Thanks again, and drop one last review on your way out!! Ciao for now.

* * *

Epilogue  
(Confessions Of A Sleeping Mind)

_"To be your friend was all I ever wanted; to be your lover was all I ever dreamed."_  
- Anon.

Zidane Tribal couldn't sleep.

And that was quite an anomaly for him. While Zidane would describe himself as 'enthusiastic', most would insist this so called enthusiasm was, in actual fact, hyperactivity (in fact, Baku would fervently insist upon it), yet despite this, the Genome could fall asleep anywhere, anytime and under any circumstance. And he was almost impossible to wake.

So why did he find himself fidgeting like an oglop in a vegetable patch after such a tiring night? Was it the thoughts of the animated Black Mage roaming somewhere ahead? The thoughts of Kuja still on the loose and reaping devastation? Remnants of adrenalin from the battle with the Zaghnol? Knowing that Dagger was virtually naked less than a metre awa-

_No no no don't think about it don't think about, man, seriously anything but that -_

And as his thoughts unravelled like a ball of yarn, he eventually concluded that, yep, it was probably the whole near-naked thing that was keeping him up – in more ways than one if he thought about it too much.

Zidane shuffled restlessly, kicking at the blankets he'd long since pushed off. How could he sleep at a time like this? He was wet and cold and miserably horny and he just couldn't untangle his thoughts enough to bloody well sleep.

Two more minutes and frustration got the better of him. He rose and clambered toward the flap of the tent. This awoke Vivi – but only partially – who mumbled something that might have been concerned if not curbed by sleep. Zidane reconciled him huffily, knowing the little mage wouldn't remember a thing in the morning, then clambered out into the wet night.

Outside_,_ the thief observed the rain glumly. Zidane didn't mind such weather in normal circumstances (it made for low visibility, excellent for sneaking), but its insistence had begun to grate even his sturdy nerves, as the conditions thwarted what might have been a pleasant trek; the rain was a patient, cruel enemy.

Still, there were some plus points to the weather. Like how Dagger's shirt had soaked into a film so transparent it revealed enough bosom to keep Zidane happy for half the trek. That had been great. He'd been close enough to see them prickle with goosebumps at one point. And the way the material clung to the skin he just knew that her corset would be all wet too which meant that all the skin underneath would be wet which would make it feel slick under his touch –

_Ah shit._

Now he was hopelessly horny. And as Zidane usually did when he worked himself into a state, he stashed himself from prying eyes and got rid of it the old fashioned way. When he emerged a while later, he felt vaguely sleepy and congratulated himself on killing two birds with one stone. He returned to the tent with a self-satisfied quirk to his lips.

Quiet as he could manage, Zidane crept through the opening and buckled it closed behind him. He turned to crawl into his sleeping space, but came up short, faced with an unusual predicament. Tangled in a net of blankets, Vivi was sprawled across half the tent with his feet against Dagger's back and his head on Zidane's pillow. Nonplussed, the thief blinked stupidly at the mage, then edged forward intent on mending this minor setback.

"Wake up," he whispered, and prodded the mage's arm.

Vivi groaned and batted the intrusive hand away with languid movements. However, his eyes opened, flickering like candles caught in a draft, then drooped into sunset crescents. They might have been eerie in the darkness if they had belonged to anyone but Vivi.

"Huh…mm…aa…?" came the response.

"Move back," Zidane said. "You've moved across the tent. Budge up."

Lambent eyes opened further as Vivi considered his position, then he did indeed move up – just not in the direction Zidane had intended. The mage scrunched himself into the far corner of the tent, his giant hat sticking from the bundle of blankets like some absurd mushroom.

Zidane considered the mage, then the remaining space, then the sleeping princess. His conclusion was as good as it was bad and he fought against his own carnality to do what he knew was right.

"Uh…I don't think you should sleep there," he said.

Woken again from his slumber, Vivi sounded almost irritated (as irritated as Vivi could sound, anyway), and he bleary offered, "Don't worry about it. No one will mind."

Again, Zidane's gaze lingered on the sleeping princess. His tail skimmed the tent's canvas in agitation. "She'll be angry…"

With the note of irritation gone (replaced instead with an indifference so cloudy he was obviously on the brink of sleep) Vivi reassured, "Naw, just get up early, she wont notice I've even m… moved…"

"You could just move over…"

But the boy was asleep. A nebulous ball of blankets. Five seconds passed and Zidane could actually determine snoring.

Despite the dilemma, even Zidane's head felt full of the cobwebs hailing sleep, and he patted the remaining snarl of blankets dumbly and tried to convince himself that sleeping next to Dagger wouldn't be _so_ detrimental. _I could get up early, _he reasoned_. She wouldn't even know. Or I could just explain… She'd understand, right? Right … Right? Aah, gods, I can't think straight!_

His self-sought answer wouldn't matter anyway, because Zidane was already arranging the two blankets Vivi had magnanimously left behind into something resembling comfortable. He was shivering madly and distantly wondered why he had given himself a hand in the rain anyway. But such ponderings could be left to the morning, he decided, as he settled beneath the covers to sleep.

Unfortunately for him, sleep was still as distant as the morning sun.

As the thief shuffled to get comfortable, the mound beside him that would have resembled Dagger if not for the wreath of shadows, met his movement with her own and Zidane stiffened like a hunted mu.

When her shuffling didn't cease, Zidane stupidly whispered, "Sssh go back to sleep."

At first he'd thought his ingenious plan had worked, as only the light pattering of rain could be discerned. But alas, he had failed. "Zidane…?"

_Oh shit she's gonna kill me._

He uselessly tried, "Um… no?"

"Oh Zid, it's only you. I thought… I thought…" She trailed off here and her breathing became even again. Zidane took this as cue to resume his own breathing and shut the hell up.

He lay on his back and stared at the dark thickets of shadow burrowing like bats in the niches of the tent. Vivi's gentle snores chorused the rain and somewhere nearby an owl hooted. Zidane's lids drifted downwards and his thoughts became a blur.

"Zidane…"

Wide awake again. This time. This time he wouldn't get away with it.

"Zi…dane…"

"Um… yeah?"

But she didn't answer. Zidane gingerly propped himself on one elbow and peered with a frown at the muddle of blanket and flesh beside him. She moved as he did so, nearly frightening the life out of him, and he leapt back with an expression that must have been hilarious if there were anyone awake to witness it. When he recovered he found the princess on her side, facing him.

"Look, I can explain," he began in a hurried whisper, "I went out and uh… well I went out and walked around for a bit and then I came back in and Vivi… Vivi was… wa…"

But Dagger was asleep. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness now and her face was a pallid beacon against the grey. He could determine her thick lashes pressed against her cheeks, and, more alarming, he suddenly noticed that she'd managed to push the covers down so now they lapped at her waist like the tide of some coarse ocean.

The thought of not looking crossed Zidane's mind – for a second anyway. He swallowed noisily as he observed the exposed cleavage, the tightly drawn bask that made the curve of her waistline so much more alluring, the tops of her thighs before they sank into petals of material. Her arms were resting neatly against the ground, her dark hair plaited and damp and snaking down her back in an onyx cascade.

Zidane pursed his lips, caught between wanting to go to sleep and looking at Dagger all night long. He decided that prolonging the latter a few more minutes couldn't hurt, so propped himself on an elbow again and failed to conceal a crafty grin.

"Zid…"

"Oh shi –" The expletive was half way out his mouth but he managed to restrain it, clamping a hand so hard against his lips it almost hurt. His heart raced like the wings of a humming bird and he waited to be rebuked. Yet Dagger's eyes remained closed.

Apparently, she was still asleep.

But why in Bahamut's name would she be saying his name in her sleep?

"Hehe, sexy dream," he chortled to himself and settled back down again with various sly thoughts itching his brain.

"Zidane," Dagger said again, in a manner that was tender as a feather-touch and so breathy it could have been a sigh. "Hold me…"

The thief sniggered to himself, deciding that yep, it was definitely a sexy dream, but he had enough respect for Dagger's privacy to keep his hands to himself, so he refused her offer.

"Zidane… don't leave me…"

The grin dropped; the eyebrows arched. What was that? She sounded close to tears. Despite the softness of her voice the quaver was almost tangible.

Caught a little off guard, Zidane whispered, "Dagger?"

She stirred slightly, her lids shifting as she searched the enigma of her dreams, and she let out a distressed whimper before imploring, "Zid… don't go… don't go…"

The tone distressed him and now her restless movement seemed tormented. Overwrought with concern and desperate to quell her anguish, Zidane shifted a tad closer and draped an arm across her waist, hoping to console the princess.

And it worked. Her shuffling subsided and her breathing quietened and she even curled into him like cat pining affection. He willed his heart still while trying hard to omit the insistent press of her breasts against his bare chest. _Good job I got it all outta my system earlier,_ he thought soberly.

Good job indeed, for when she moaned in a way that was nothing short of sensual, jolts of pleasure jerked from the top of his spine to the tip of his toe. He was about to move away lest anything unsavoury arose, when Dagger snaked an arm around his waist and squirmed even closer.

_Oh gods, I'm gonna be deep shit in the morning, _was all he could clearly think at the time.

Still, he decided to enjoy it while it lasted and contented just breathing the perfume of her hair – rain and… what was that? Some kind of a flower? Lavender or something. Zidane wasn't too good with plants but it smelt good either way so he wasn't complaining. And she was keeping him warm. And she was much softer than the dirty old travelling blankets he usually slept in… In fact, a guy could quite get used to it all.

"Hm…gone…a…"

"Ssh, Dagger, go to sleep." Zidane ran a hand through her damp hair. She pressed further against him, sighing in a way that was decidedly content, though she didn't quiet like he'd hoped.

"Mmm… hope you never go away."

"I wont."

"Ngh… wana…"

"Uh-huh."

"You… you ah… you're mine."

Zidane snorted with laughter. "Oh yeah?"

"I… I want you…"

"Why, princess, I had no idea you could be so forward."

"…to stay with me."

"You want me to stay with you?"

"Mmm…"

"What… Now?"

Dagger sighed heavily and mumbled into his chest, "Yeah, but… forever…"

"Forever…?"

No reply. As selfish as it seemed, the thief feared she'd gone to sleep and with it, his one chance of fathoming her feelings, so he prodded her gently, causing her to stir again.

"You really want me to stay with you forever?"

She sighed softly and shuffled, apparently uncomfortable. Zidane loosened his grip but she tightened hers, so he settled.

She mumbled random words into his chest between protracted sighs and desultory movement. He smiled to himself, hushing her if she became fitful and responding to her seemingly unhinged conversation with his own. After some time, her banter became more intelligible, even if its meaning remained ambiguous.

"…have to decorate…"

"Decorate what?"

"The castle… flowers… I want white… white roses…"

"Why's that?"

"Mother likes roses… but… but they can't be red, no, not for…a…a wedding…"

"Oh so you're getting married now? I didn't even get an invitation!"

"Blank… or… Steiner…?"

"What!?"

"One of them I think…"

"B-blank! You'd chose Blank over…?" Zidane trailed off, fighting the unbidden surf of jealousy. He retorted gruffily, "Err… Sorry to shatter your dreams but I don't think either of them feel that way about you, Dag."

"Not for me… for… you."

"Geez. Again… not sure they feel the same way. Your dreams are pretty crazy, you know – "

"Your best man…"

"Eh?"

She went quiet though, forehead pressed just below his collarbone and breath slight against his skin. He tried hard to scour meaning behind her rambling – a meaning that didn't involve what her admission immediately brought to mind. Because she couldn't mean that she – that they – that her dreams were… of them getting… Because that couldn't be right because Dagger was a princess and he was thief and there was no way on Gaia or the twin moons or anywhere in the whole _universe_ that someone like her would consider someone like him.

Why? Because that was just stupid. An incongruous fairytale that kids believed in. And Zidane had learnt the hard way that life is far from the whimsical stories read in books. While Zidane made the works of a thief look facile, years of hard, illicit labour with little reward (for always, it seemed, their money went on food) would always be enough to humble his boasts. Year of spending nights hunkered on street corners wanting for nothing and everything, where the happy ending of children's book seemed as unreachable as they were implausible.

So to think that he, a simple street urchin who could barely recite his timetables and had not one worthy qualification under his belt, would catch the eye of Garnet Til Alexandros 17th was inconceivable. In the forefront of his mind he paraded his ability to woo any woman with a few smart words and chivalrous actions, but he knew, deep down, someone like Dagger was completely out of his league.

Until now.

Zidane stared at the shadows. The rain had stopped. The owls were quiet. The monsters were still. He examined the tender emotion building in his chest, wondered what it was and when it had come about – and so sneakily too! It held vague resemblance to the fever that had once gripped him in the marshland, but this one he didn't fight. He accepted it with a mixture of confused apprehension and rapture.

He said, "So we're getting hitched then, eh?"

Dagger didn't answer, but this time he didn't need her to.

"If things work out. I… I'd like that. I'd like to be with you and… look after you. For as long as you need me. And that's a promise, and my word is better than any pansy wedding vow. Okay?"

She wriggled a bit, still half asleep. "Okay…"

Awed, Zidane shuffled closer to her, burying his nose in her hair, knowing but not caring the retribution of an oblivious Garnet in the morning.

He fell asleep tangled in her limbs, breathing her scent and absorbing her warmth, and dreamed of white roses.

-


End file.
